Endless Night
by Kovukono
Summary: A cub is born with a gift, closely watched over by his father. Advised to read Morals first, though not absolutely necessary.
1. Dusk: Father and Son

You should be able to read this before any of my other stories, although it's advised that you read them first simply for clarity. But you don't have to. Legalities: Dingane and Sicwele are the characters of Roger Byrum/spottedhyena, and are used with his permission. Vitani, Kovu, Kiara, Nala, Simba, Rafiki, Zazu, and Zira are copyrighted to Disney. Haja (both of them), Mvushi, Nyota, Pofu, Tumai, Fujo, Taabu, Sibu, Taos, Fina, Bayana, Akasare/Taraju, Majadi, Nadhari, Shani, and Anaka are all my characters, and are not to be used without my explicit permission. _Passion_ lyrics created by Utada Hikaru. _Solitude_ lyrics created by Nina Simon. _Endless Night_ lyrics copyrighted to Disney.

Endless Night

Dusk: Father and Son

_You are my sanctuary_

_My sanctuary_

_Where fears and lies_

_Melt away_

Well, the first thing you should probably know about me is I'm different. Really different. Even my parents didn't really know how different I was at first. I guess the easiest way to start out would be to tell you that I'm what you would call blind. That's even where I got my name. My parents didn't tell me I was blind. They said I was _different_. They told me I could cope with—well, that comes later. I'm getting ahead of myself. Alright, I'm blind. But I have a gift. I have a gift that none of you have, that none of you could possibly hope to have. I discovered it when I was a cub, and it nearly led me down to madness. That's not really what I care about, though. It's who I lost along the way.

oOo

"It's a shame we'll have to kill them." Mvushi looked up from the cubs at those words.

"Kill them?" he asked. "Why would we ever kill them?"

Haja looked down at him scornfully. "How would you like it if you had to go through your childhood again, hmm? Starving for even the tiniest scrap because of that brute? It would be a kindness to kill them now and save them the agony."

"But it isn't like that now!" protested Mvushi. "Things are growing, and there's more food, and maybe there'll even be a decent land to rule over!"

"Not with Aka around."

Mvushi felt a deep hatred at the mention of that name. The name of the one who had torn away his parents from his home, the one who turned on the pride and wiped them out to the remnants who were here today, left to curse him and mourn over their loved ones. But from the way Haja sometimes spoke, he more than got the impression that his father, the one who had raised Aka, was a heartless beast, and even worse than that, a fool, and that the lionesses were the only thing that kept the kingdom running after he had taken over. But that didn't matter at all. He was dead; Aka had seen to that. "He won't be around. Not if he does to my cubs what he did to that pride's."

"And who are you to stop him? Yes, it's your purpose, your only goal in life, but how do you plan to protect your cubs? He's a damned shadow! And an undead one at that! If he decides your cubs are going to die, then they might as well be dead. You know he let you live; it wasn't that we hid you well enough."

"He won't kill them. And neither will you. You won't touch a hair on their heads as long as they live. Is that understood?"

Haja glared at him, her anger at his insubordination making her speechless. She finally spat out, "You're just as much of a fool as your father." She stomped off angrily.

Mvushi watched her go for a second before turning back to his mate, Nyota, the two surviving cubs in her legs. She stared down at them, a boy and a girl, the only two left out of the four, the other two being stillborn. It didn't matter. At least she had these two to love and keep warm. She looked up at Mvushi with adoring eyes. He stared back down at her with the same expression. They didn't need words. Words would have only ruined it. They laid there, basking in the glow of their two new cubs.

The girl didn't make it through the night.

oOo

After a week of keeping them closed, just listening to my parents' voices, I finally opened my eyes.

I saw nothing.

I still didn't have a name. So they gave it to me, seeing my eyes for the first time. Pofu. I suppose the eyes were a dead giveaway about my—condition. What looked like only a pupil and white (at least, as white as a lion's eyes can get). Then they saw that I did have an iris, hidden within the white, just a shade darker than the whites, almost invisible.

Saying Mother was shocked was an understatement. Devastated was closer. Father . . . he took it even worse than Mother. They didn't know how they would cope. They vowed to raise me the best they could. Apparently Father's uncle had the same problem. He had overcome it, had completely decimated the obstacle. They said he could see with his sightless eyes like no one else, that he could see things that most people wouldn't even glimpse. Hopefully, with practice, I could do the same.

So I tried.

It was difficult. I slowly learned to distinguish between lions, so that each one seemed different, just by the sound of their breathing, or their footsteps, or their scent. It was remarkably easy once I learned how. Then came the memorization, the long, arduous memorization. Memorizing, flawlessly which person carried them which way, breathed which way, had which voice, walked which way. I began to give names to figures. And then came trying to figure out where I was. Within three weeks I could tell you where I was, and anyone who was next to me. Mother and Father were very proud.

"Look," Daddy said (that's how I referred to him then) to the leader, "at him. And you would have killed him. You would have taken away this gem." I always felt closer to Daddy than anyone else. He loved me, dearly. I was everything to him. And I loved him back. I adored my father, idolized him, worshiped him. He'd do anything for me, and I felt I'd do the same.

But he couldn't share me.

I had to be hidden, tucked away in a safe place from time to time, with my solemn vow that I wouldn't move at all. It was never Daddy's fault. He explained it to me. He told me there was a horrible, horrible lion who was looking for me, who was looking for anything which he felt might not fit in the world. And if he found it, he would kill it, quickly, and without any hesitation.

I came to know him as the Beast. Whenever the Beast even came close, Daddy would hide me away, and leave me until the Beast had stalked by. As soon as it was safe he would rush to me, and pick me up and make sure I was unharmed. He told me that one day he would slay the Beast for me, so I wouldn't have to hide and I could wander without fear.

But while the Beast was there, I lived with fear, the constant fear that he might come for me. I was sure that Daddy could stop him, certain that he was the best. But there was always that horrible nagging thought of _What if he didn't win?_ The Beast would ruthlessly strike down Daddy, and then come for me. Whenever I hid I was always afraid he had learned where I was from Daddy before he killed him. He always came by me, every time I was forced to hide. I heard his pawsteps, felt them making the ground shake, being monstrous in size and hideously loud. And almost every time he came by me he would pause, seemingly right in front of me. I heard him sniffing, growling, snarling, trying to search me out.

One time I thought he even found me. He walked right over me, with myself pressing my body as hard as I could to the ground as his immense bulk slowly passed over me, still searching for what made my scent. Hours later Daddy would come for me, making sure the Beast was nowhere around before he came to me and took me home to safety, along with a vow that he would rid us of the Beast once and for all.

As I said, I had a gift. I didn't even realize it at first. I thought everyone could do it. Even as a newborn cub I remember having it. I remember, lying against my mother, lying motionless, my blind eyes closed. And I heard a voice. Mother's voice. And then, sometimes, there were two of Mother's voices. But besides voices, I remember feeling happiness, and warmth, and love flowing through me.

I remember the first time Mother left when I was awake. Everything disappeared. No more happiness, no more love. All of it suddenly gone, like someone had turned off the sun for a normal lion and sent him spiraling into darkness. I squalled. Almost immediately I felt someone else, and I felt annoyance, and even a bit of repulsion. I didn't know what they were called then, I gave names to them later. All I knew then was that I didn't like it. I threw even more of a fit. Then I felt love again, warm, soothing love. And I heard father's voice, reassuring me, and then two of them, saying, "Don't worry. I'm here." Then only one again, with its warm gentle message. I calmed down, I was happy again.

I always felt that warm love with Mother and Daddy. But later, when I opened my eyes and started to walk, I touched others. I felt what they felt sometimes, thought their thoughts. But not always. It was never constant, except with Mother and Daddy. Until Daddy found out. He learned it when I was lying next to him one day. He was hungry, and, naturally, thinking of food. He wanted to go get a nice, big, juicy antelope. I said, "Why don't you just go get it, Daddy?"

_Well, it wouldn't be right, it wouldn't be proper_, he thought. _I mean, if that horrible monster Aka found me doing that, that would be the last of me_.

"But you're tough," I said. "You're my dad. You can handle anything."

_Yes but—oh my god_, he thought. And then, suddenly, in two voices, he said, "You know what I'm thinking, don't you?"

I tried to describe it to him. He told me I could look in someone's head, and pick out whatever I wanted. He told me that this was truly a gift, something to be treasured, and that he it only made him prouder to be my father. He explained to me that the two voices were actually just one, but that I was hearing one with my ears and one with my mind. From then on he worked with me, trying to develop my skill, hone it. We told no one, and made it our secret. We agreed to tell the others someday, but for now, this was just between us.

That day came too soon.

Daddy told me to go up to Mother and just lie down next to her, pick through her thoughts, just pick one and talk about it. It might actually take her a while to figure out what was happening. So I did it. I found out she was hungry, too, as Daddy had been. But that was nothing, she wasn't actually thinking about that. Everyone was hungry, no matter which mind I went to. Emotions and strong desires I didn't even have to think about to pick up, but thoughts I actually had to work for. Mother was thinking about what the leader, Haja, had described their former home like. About her words of trees, and grass, and fat prey that was so slow and stupid anyone could catch it.

"It sounds wonderful," I told her.

_Wonderful?_ she thought. _It sounds like a paradise_. _It must be what heaven is like; it's just too good to be real_.

"The leader seems to believe it," I said.

_The leader, you poor thing, is a foolish hag_.

"Why would you say that about Haja?" I asked.

I felt her look down at me in surprise, and then, suddenly, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. The last thought I felt from her before she got up and started backing away from me was _Oh gods oh gods, what have I created?_

"It's okay, Mom," I said. Then Daddy came up.

"It's alright," he said to her. "Isn't it wonderful though?"

"What—what did he just do?"

"He saw your thoughts."

"Oh, gods . . ."

Daddy laughed. "Yes, I imagine it's a bit of a shock."

"Shock? This turns my entire world upside down!"

"Does this mean you don't love me?" I asked.

Mother paused. It seemed like a long time. I could feel her looking down at me. Then she came over to me and lied down next to me, drew me close with her forelegs, and gave me a warm, gentle lick on the head. "No," she said. "No, I'll always love you."

And she did. I could feel it. All of her was once again warm love, with only a few remnants of the sudden horror she had felt, and even those quickly faded away. I nuzzled her, loving her back. I knew Daddy was looking at us happily. Soon he lied down with Mother, nuzzling me as well. We all laid there, basking in my newfound gift.

oOo

Mvushi decided not to tell the others. He couldn't. He knew how they would feel. He had been their treasure, their joy, their prize, and, his namesake, their savior. And now he was rejected by them, seen as a waste, all because he was less capable at hunting than the lionesses. That was the only thing that mattered here.

But his son still had a chance. They pitied him for having an indecent father, a father that amounted to nothing. If they knew Pofu had this gift, this wonderful talent, he would be even worse off than his father. He knew how he would be shunned, known as a freak, a monster. He was already considered an annoyance for his constant need to be hid from Akasare. It wouldn't take much more to really make them despise him.

So he told no one. He had made Nyota see reason as well. She understood completely, and had no wish for her son to be made a pariah. But she had also reminded Mvushi that they couldn't keep it hidden forever. Someday they would have to tell them. But for then, they both agreed to keep it secret.

Pofu, however, couldn't be made to promise. Especially not if his father wanted him to develop the gift. So Mvushi warned Pofu to be careful when he used it, to try not to make it obvious. So Pofu happily just dipped into thoughts, into the unsuspecting minds of his pride as he lied by their sides, "asleep." If Mvushi asked him to do it, Pofu would do it unquestioningly; such was his love for his father.

But he was still only a cub. He had no idea of subtlety or secrecy. He was bound to be caught, and he was. He was careless, he made mistakes. And nothing slipped past Haja's all-seeing eyes. Slowly she pieced together the truth, and almost immediately discarded it as a fantasy. But it was the only thing that fit.

So she tricked Pofu. When he was lying innocently against her, eyes closed and ears laid back, looking for all the world like he was asleep, she thought, _I know you can hear me_. Immediately Pofu's ears perked up. _Well, can't you?_

"Yes," said Pofu unsurely. It was all she needed, and she immediately seized upon it. She picked up Pofu and took him over to Mvushi and Nyota.

"I want to know the truth," she said.

"The truth about what?" asked Mvushi.

"About him." Haja pushed Pofu forward.

"Your highness," said Mvushi cautiously, "what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how this little—_thing_—reads minds as if they were open in front of him!" She turned to the rest of the pride. "Tell them all!"

Mvushi looked down at his mate. She looked up at him and nodded. "They need to know," she said.

Mvushi sighed. He knew Nyota was right. It had to be done. Now was as good a time as any. Who knew what horrible lies Haja might give the pride if he didn't? He slowly walked to the center of the small pride. He turned and looked back at his son. "Come here, Pofu." Pofu obediently came over. Mvushi looked back at the pride. _Might as well get it all out of the way_. "Pofu can see into minds," Mvushi declared. There was an almost unanimous gasp, then a sudden stream of speech.

"That's impossible!" One lioness's cry broke out over the chatter.

"It's the truth," said Mvushi. "He can look into your mind and see what any one of you is thinking. I know, I've watched him grow, much more than any of you ever have. And I think this is only the beginning. You can't even imagine what he may be capable of."

"Why should we believe you?" another lioness cried. "You, of all of us!"

"I'm not lying. Please, you have to believe me."

"If it is true," retorted the first lioness, "do you know what this means? No one is safe. There will be no more secrets. There can't be any more secrets! No privacy at all!"

"Don't judge him like that," Mvushi pleaded. "He doesn't know what he does. If anyone, blame me. I am the one who encouraged him."

"Why should we trust you or your little freak?"

"Yeah, the little freak!"

Mvushi wrapped a foreleg protectively around Pofu. "Don't call him that. Please."

"Would you look at that, father and freak!"

Nyota stood up. "If you don't trust him, believe me. I have no reason to lie. I was just as shocked as you."

"I have his cubs on the way as well," said another lioness. "How do I know they won't be freaks like yours?"

Nyota strode over to the lioness and hit her across the face. "Don't you _dare_ call my son a freak again," she breathed. She turned to the rest of the pride. "Does it really matter what he can do? Yes, my son has a gift. It is an amazing gift. But does that change him entirely? Isn't he still the cub you knew yesterday? Does it really make a difference knowing this?" Murmurs ran through the pride. "Please," she begged, "he's no different than when you knew him before. He's still the same cub. Please, just accept him again."

The pride was quiet. Finally a lioness stepped forward. "Well, he looks the same as yesterday, doesn't he? Why should he be any different?" Murmurs of assent slowly ran through the pride. "You're right, Nyota. There isn't any difference. If anything, we're even more blessed than before."

That ended all thoughts of Pofu being thrown out. It even helped Mvushi. They no longer hated him, but in fact somewhat began to admire him. Barely. But Pofu, he became loved by the pride. But he also became feared. No one ever became close to him, knowing what he could do. No one but his parents, who loved him tirelessly.

oOo

About two weeks later the new cubs arrived. Mother was happy, I was excited, but Daddy had completely the opposite reactions. He was worried, worried sick about what they might turn out like. He didn't believe any of them would turn out like me; he realized that something like me only happened once in a millennia. But he remembered the other cubs. Two of them hadn't even made it out of the womb, and my sister didn't even make it to the second day. So Daddy was worried. He wanted them to come out well so much. He put the entire pride somewhat on edge.

The cubs were born. Three girls one day and four the next. All of them seemingly in perfect health, all of them with perfect eyes, ears, noses, limbs. Daddy was overjoyed.

The first day after the second litter was born the pride was allowed near the cubs. We all came to their mothers to see them, little balls of fur either suckling or sleeping. They were difficult for me to make out. They all seemed to be the same to me, just little things that were there, doing whatever they were doing, with no individuality at all. That was alright though, it was to be expected. The traits would come later.

I was curious, though. I hadn't ever felt what a cub's mind was like. So I tried it. I went over to one of the little things, her mother watching me closely. I put my paw on it and felt. The result made me stagger back.

Pain, lots of it, and a mind screaming out for relief.

I tried again, with all of the cubs. It was the same. So I told Daddy. "I think there's something wrong, Daddy," I said.

"Wrong?" he asked. "What could possibly be wrong? They've got all their senses, their moving, they're acting just like normal cubs, they're in perfect health—"

"Daddy, I don't think they are. I think they're sick."

Daddy paused before he answered me, with me taking this as just thought. I later realized it wasn't thought, but hope shattering into a million pieces. "Pofu—son—these cubs are perfectly fine. You—you must be wrong. There's nothing wrong with them. There—there can't be anything wrong with them." His voice bordered on hysteria.

"Alright, Daddy. Where's Mom?"

"What? Your mother? Oh, she's down in the cave."

"Okay, Daddy. I'll be with her."

As I scampered off happily for Mother I heard him saying firmly, "There's nothing wrong with them."

The next day the cubs began to die. One at a time, each of them wailing their protest. By nightfall they were all gone. Daddy was crushed. All night and into the next day he mourned with Mother and me in the den. The entire pride was shocked over the deaths. Many of them began to suspect it was something to do with Daddy, as he was the father to all three of the litters, with me being the only survivor. Shortly after sunrise we were disturbed. Outside our cave came a huge roar of "Mvushi!"

Daddy immediately jumped up. "No," he said. "He's not taking Pofu, too." He ran out of the cave. Mother stayed with me. I started to ask her what was going on, but she said, "Don't talk. It's Aka."

Suddenly I began to shiver in fear. It was the Beast. He had come for me. And Daddy—Daddy had just gone out there, alone, to face him. I was scared.

"Why are you here?" I heard Daddy roar. Mother didn't seem to hear the response, but I did, loud and clear.

"I want to pay for what I did to all of you." The voice sent shivers down my spine. It seemed to have no pity, no compassion.

"Why?" Daddy snarled.

"I've realized my mistake. Just do what you were meant to."

I heard Daddy let out a sigh. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this."

Then a new voice suddenly entered. "Taraju, think this through!" I heard a whack and a groan, then the Beast spoke again:

"Just do it now."

I didn't know what happened. I never knew completely until later. I heard sounds, then suddenly a scream of "Taraju!" from yet another unknown voice. Then everything was still, and then I heard a dull thud. Finally Daddy spoke again.

"It's done."

He came into the den, followed by the rest of the pride that had been outside the cave, eight of them in all. I ran to him, feeling Mother grab me but freeing myself from her paw. I ran over and embraced Daddy's leg. I felt his love, intensified, as well as relief and security and serene happiness. "He's dead," he said to Mother. "That monster will never trouble us again."

"Oh, Daddy!" I cried. He bent down and gave me a gentle, loving lick.

"It's all right. You're safe now. No more hiding. You're free. We're all free." I rubbed against my father's stomach as he sat down. I never adored him, idolized him as much as I did in that moment. It would have been perfect, as I immersed myself in his happy mind, if it hadn't been for one thing.

I felt pain.

It was so small I almost missed it. It was enough to stop my affection in mid-rub. I paused, searching, praying I had mistaken it. But it was there. I stopped completely, stepped back from my father, and began to cry. He was instantly lying down on the ground by my side. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"You hurt," I sobbed.

"No," he said, "of course not. That brute didn't even touch me."

"But Daddy," I said, the sobs almost making my words indistinguishable, "you hurt. Like the cubs."

I felt Daddy suddenly take in a breath. "No," he said disbelievingly. "I feel fine. Don't worry about me. I'm here for you, I'll always be here for you."

"Really?" I asked, still crying.

"Really. Now dry up those tears. Come on, it's a happy time. You're safe now, we all are. We can truly begin to live." He gave me another lick. "How about after this we go out and bring you back some food, huh?"

"Really?" I asked, the tears finally stopped.

He gave a small laugh. "Really."

"But they're still out there," I heard one of the lionesses say.

"We can wait," Daddy said. "We've waited my entire life. We can wait a little longer."

The owners of the unknown voices were gone by mid-afternoon. After that we had a feast. Five whole carcasses for the pride, almost enough for one carcass for every two lions. I hadn't ever remembered feeling so full. It felt good.

Daddy, on the other hand, didn't feel good. Three days went by, with him getting slowly worse. It was just a mild headache at first, and then he got to the coughing. It would go on and off, but when it did happen, great spasms of it wracked his body. He started moving less, started just lying down more.

I refused to leave his side. I was with him always, constantly trying to care for him. I didn't know then that I was only a cub and that there was nothing I could do. But it felt good to be with him, to have the illusion that I was helping him carry through. I could tell myself that he was getting better, that the slowly worsening cough was going away, that the occasional collapses were just him tripping. It felt good to be at his side.

They did try to take me away from him, though. They were afraid I might get sick as well. Daddy took care of that, though. He reasoned that if we could have gotten sick, wouldn't they have become ill earlier? After that they let us be.

Mother was worried. She knew what had happened to the cubs, and what I had seen in Daddy, what I still continued to see as the pain slowly overwhelmed him. She knew what the outcome was. I didn't. I was happily, obliviously blind. Daddy insisted he was fine. And Daddy was never, ever wrong.

So it stayed like that for three days, him slowly worsening and me deluding myself, while the rest of the pride watched sadly, knowing what was happening. Then the invitation came.

oOo

I was up, just lying against Daddy. It hurt me to feel him hurting, but I knew he would get through it. No one was tougher than my dad. He was the one who killed the Beast. Nothing could beat him. Mother was next to him, too, with Daddy squished in between us. Every few minutes I would be jolted, his body shaking me as he coughed. Then a lioness came back into the den.

"Mvushi," she said. "He's back."

"Who—" Daddy broke off, a horrible, horrible fit of coughing overtaking him. That had been one of the worst ones. "Who?" he finally managed.

"That lion who was with Aka."

Daddy growled. "I'll take care of this." He got up and went outside. The rest of the lionesses followed, along with me. I stayed close by Mother, she had told me to do so. I still heard every word. "What do you want, lowlife?" growled Daddy.

"Actually, I'm a prince," said the visitor cockily. It was the first voice that had been with the Beast.

"Oh, a prince. How important. I'll inform all of Africa. So, what do you want, _sire?_" asked Daddy.

"You don't even know who I am and you—"

"You were with that murderer," growled Daddy. "That's enough."

"I've come to offer you a place in the Pridelands," said the visitor.

"And why would we want to leave to come live in the den of filth like your friend?"

"My brother was a changed lion. He willingly came to you."

"And why would we want to live in the den of filth like your brother?"

"We can offer you a better life," said the visitor. "You won't have to scrounge for food. You'll be free to as much food as you need. You won't need to live in constant fear of the other lions in the Outlands. We can help you."

"We don't need your help," said Daddy.

"Don't be a fool, Mvushi," said Haja suddenly. Her next remark was to the visitor. "We are extremely grateful for—"

"What are you doing?" Daddy demanded.

The leader suddenly raised her voice to Daddy. "You do not remember it, but we were once _free_. We did not have to poach for food; we owned the lands and the food! If your father hadn't been such a fool—" Daddy snarled, then let out a cry of pain as Haja hit him. "If you won't respect your elders, at least respect your betters," the leader growled. She turned back to the visitor. "We accept."

"Alright," said the visitor. "Just—just come with me, I suppose."

"Thank you, your majesty." I heard Haja do something, but I still hadn't learned enough yet to tell motions well.

"Look, you really don't need to—yeah." The visitor sighed. "Just get everyone up and we'll go."

"This is everyone, sire," said Haja. "This is all that we have left." Then she suddenly said, after a pause, "He's the only one left. All his sisters died." I realized she was referring to me.

"Well then," said the visitor, "uh, let's go." I heard him start to walk away.

I ran to Daddy. He had fallen again, and was silently coughing, keeping his mouth firmly shut, letting no sound escape. It stopped and he said, "Don't worry. I'm alright. Now go with your mother."

I suddenly felt myself being picked up by the scruff of my neck. After that I was just swaying. I never could tell what was going on when I was hanging like that. I could hear plenty, but I seemed to need my feet on the ground to actually understand anything. Words, however, needed no explanation. I heard the lionesses saying how beautiful everything was, and some of them (not any of the younger ones) saying how it was just like home. I didn't hear Daddy fall once the entire way. I did hear him talking to Haja.

"What about Pofu?" he asked her.

"What about the little beast?" she said.

"I've told you time and again, if you don't like me, don't take it out on my son."

"Well then that's alright. You know I don't care for you, or him, or your damned fool of a father. So again, what about the little ingrate?"

Daddy let out a small cough. "Should we tell them about—" he began.

"Absolutely not!" snapped the leader. "Aiheu knows what they'd do to us if they found out. They'd never let us in, never. And you know how much we need this chance. Besides, think of what they'd do to him. They'd kill the little beast probably. You really should think of him more. I mean, it's only a matter of time before Nyota's left mateless and the little freak is—"

"Shut up," growled Daddy. "Not while he's around. And if you think I have never cared about my son, then you must be as blind as he is." They didn't speak after that. I listened to the lionesses' conversation as we went to wherever Pride Rock was. Finally we arrived, the first remark being "It's so big."

"It always does get you the first time," boomed an unknown voice. "I am Kovu, king of the Pridelands. Welcome. You're just in time for breakfast."

"What's breakfast, Mom?" I asked. Mother gently set me down.

"This means you can have more than one meal now, Pofu," she said.

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"That's right. No more limits."

"Come on into the den. The hunters should be back soon," said Kovu. I was picked up again, and carried bouncily to the den. I later learned there were stairs, but that was completely unseen by my eyes. The den was a completely alien place to me. I was immediately assaulted by smells, tons of smells, mountains of smells. There was food, there were scents, there were the sounds of lions that I had never heard. And there were very strange voices, little voices. I didn't have any idea that something could sound like that.

But as soon as we walked in, the voices stopped. After a few moments pause during which Mother put me down and I scrambled to find Daddy again, the voices slowly resumed speaking, but in quiet, hushed tones. Then I heard Kovu's voice again. "These are the Outlanders that I told you about. I have invited them to stay. If any of you wish to protest, do so later. For now, welcome them." Then I heard a lion turning. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. The lionesses will be back any time."

"Thank you, sire," said Haja.

I had found Daddy by now, and was entwining myself around his leg. He was still standing, and I felt the familiar shift of muscles indicating that he was turning his head. I heard an unknown voice say "Kovu" while yet another said "Dad," followed by footsteps.

As soon as the footsteps grew fainter Daddy collapsed again, violently coughing. After a few seconds he silenced the coughing, though his body still continued to shake. It finally stopped literally minutes later, several times becoming audible. I nuzzled his muzzle, feeling his warm breath on me.

"Are you okay?" asked a female voice. I spun around. It was the second voice that had been with the Beast.

"He's fine!" I said. "There's nothing wrong with him!"

"Look, little guy, I'm not going to hurt you. Calm down."

"You couldn't hurt Daddy even if you wanted to!"

"Quiet, Pofu," said Daddy. "Really, I'm fine," he said to the lioness.

"You didn't look fine. You looked like you were about to—"

"Don't say it. Don't."

"Oh."

Suddenly I heard a shout. "The mighty hunters re—" Abruptly it broke off. Then the same voice said, quietly, "Breakfast is on the rock." I was suddenly being picked up.

"Hey!" I protested.

"Pofu, go with your mother," said Daddy. "I'll be with you soo—" He broke off, coughing again. He finally stopped, and managed to get out, "Just go with her."

"Alright," I conceded. It wasn't like I actually had a choice in the matter, though. Mother would have carried me down there kicking and screaming if she had to.

"Here, I'll take them down there," said the lioness.

"No, wait. I want to talk to you."

"Um . . . okay," said the lioness hesitantly. Mother carried me out of the den down to what I later knew as the tanning rock. The wonderful aroma of fresh meat met my nose, and Mother almost dropped me I squirmed so much. She finally set me down, but almost immediately put a restricting foreleg around me.

"Wait your turn," she said. I sat down obediently, my tail twitching in apprehension. After a few moments she said, "Wait here, and don't move." She left, leaving me alone to think over all the smells and sounds I was experiencing. I slowly began to sift them into individuals. I knew it would take quite some time to actually distinguish between all of them easily. Then I was overwhelmed by the aroma of fresh meat. "Here you are Pofu. Dig in." I buried my head into the still-warm muscle of the carcass, blood splattering over my muzzle. _This_, I thought, was happiness.

oOo

Mvushi watched his beloved son be carried away by his mother, and then turned back to the lioness standing in front of him. "What is it you wanted?" she asked.

"I—I wanted to know," Mvushi said.

"Know what?"

Mvushi stared at the ground for a few seconds, then looked back up at the lioness. "Why don't you hate me?"

"Huh?"

"You—" He was suddenly stopped by a fit of coughing. He resumed. "You watched me tear out your brother's throat. And I _was_ happy about it. So why don't you hate me?"

The lioness lied down next to Mvushi. "I—I just don't. I didn't want you to do that, but there wasn't any other way. My friend—not brother, friend—wanted to die. He was sorry for what he did to you. He was taken away from here as a cub, and never came back. We all thought he was dead. And then he just showed up one day, and didn't remember anything about here. He finally did remember, and he remembered what was good. He realized the horrible things he did to you, and thought the only way to pay would be to die. He thought you should be the one to do it. I guess that's why I don't hate you. It's because I know you were just doing what he wanted you to."

Mvushi was silent for some time, even considering the two fits he went through during the silence. He finally spoke up again. "Why did you come with him?"

The lioness turned away from Mvushi. Mvushi was about to apologize, but suddenly the lioness spoke. "I loved him. I really, truly loved him. I realized that almost as soon as I met him. I had always felt something was missing when he was gone, but I never knew. Then I saw him, and it—it was like it was—something. It was indescribable, but I knew he was what was gone." She dabbed at her eye, and then turned back to Mvushi, her eyes somewhat red. She sniffed.

"I'm sorry," said Mvushi. "I really am. I didn't realize I'd be hurting anyone else. Not that way. I can't imagine how I'd feel if I lost Nyota . . . or how she's going to feel." He let out a sigh. He knew she was going to be heartbroken, even more than when she discovered Pofu's blindness.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No. I'm sorry—I'm sorry; I never got your name."

"Tumai."

"Tumai, I've been fighting this, fighting for every inch. And it's beating me. But I can't give up. Not while Nyota's here, not while I still have Pofu . . . you'll understand when you have a cub, how much they mean to you. Him and his mother are the only things that keep me going. But I can't fight it, not well enough. I'm going to die. I've seen what will happen with my own cubs. . . . It's—horrible. . . . No, there's nothing you can do."

"I—I didn't mean about that. I know there's nothing I can do about that. I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe there's something that I could do for you . . . once you're gone."

Mvushi looked up, stared into her truthful eyes. "You would do that for me?" Tumai nodded. "But why?" Mvushi asked, his voice choked with emotion.

"Because you aren't the horrible lion I thought you were. You really do love your son and mate, I can see that. So, if there's anything I could do to make it easier . . . set your mind at rest . . ." Her voice trailed off.

Mvushi looked up at her, then laid his head on the ground. "I want you to watch over Pofu for me. Nyota will be fine. She's strong, she's willing. But I'm worried about Pofu." He sighed. "Just promise me you'll make sure he's taken care of. He's more special than you could imagine."

Tumai stared at Mvushi, taking in his words. "Of course."

Mvushi let out the breath he had been holding in. "Thank you." He was overcome by another fit of coughing. It stopped quickly, much quicker than normal. He slowly got to his feet.

"Where are you going?" asked Tumai.

"Down to my son. I have a promise to keep."

"Here, I'll show you the way." She paused at the entrance to the den. "What's your name again?"

"Mvushi."

"Got it."

They walked side by side towards the sounds the pride made as they ate. "Tumai?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you do one more thing for me?"

"What?"

"Could you sleep with Pofu?"

"What?" Tumai asked, startled.

"No, not like that. I mean just sleep with him. When I'm gone. He has—needs. Maybe he'll tell you someday."

"Alright," said Tumai, puzzled.

"And if you find out . . . please, don't tell."

"It's a promise."

oOo

I was still shoveling in food when Daddy came down with the lioness. I stopped eating when I heard him cough slightly. I ran to him, yelling, "Daddy!" He laughed as I circled his leg.

"So have you been minding your mother?" I felt him look up.

"He's been too busy eating to do much minding," said Mother.

Daddy laughed again. "Pofu, this is Tumai."

"Hey there, Pofu," the lioness said.

I tried to make her out. Her voice was easy enough to recognize, but I'd need to be around her longer to really memorize what she was like. But I did my best then and there. I sat down and listened and felt and smelt as hard as I could.

"Um . . . Mvushi?" asked Tumai.

"Don't worry. He's just looking at you like that to remember you."

"Why?"

"It's the only way he can tell us apart. Memorize everything." I heard father shake his head. (Now, when I say heard, I don't really mean I could hear him moving his head. It's more the way their breath moves. It grows fainter if they lean back, louder if they move forward, to one side if they move a certain direction, etc. I didn't realize until later exactly how gifted I was in this way, either. Most lions didn't have my kind of sense perception. (One time I had actually spent an entire day commenting on a smell that no one seemed to notice at all, until they found a nest of dead rats in the back of the cave.) Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, hearing Daddy.) "I don't think I could ever memorize that much. He can even tell what you're doing in some cases, and he's getting so much better it's almost scary."

I thought I had Tumai down by now. She had her own little weird way of breathing, apparently taking a few deep breaths whenever she needed, but when she talked they got much shallower. Most lions had the same pattern almost all the time, with very little variation, and you could usually tell moods by the variation. Anyway, I thought I had her figured out.

I spoke up again, bouncing to my feet. "Daddy, you wanna come eat? It's _really_ good."

Daddy laughed. "Alright."

"I'll see you later, Mvushi." I listened carefully to Tumai's pads as they thudded against the ground as she walked away.

"Okay, what's so great about this meat?" asked Daddy as we walked back to Mother.

"It's just _so good_. I mean, it tastes different, but it is _so much_ better. And it's still warm, and it's juicy." Almost as soon as we reached the carcass I had dug my head back into it. Daddy laughed.

"Well, son, it looks like you've got a taste for buffalo."

"Buffalo?" I asked, the word barely comprehendible around all the meat in my mouth.

"It's a different kind of animal than we're used to having."

I swallowed, and took another bite, realizing while I chewed that I didn't think I could fit down another piece. I managed to swallow anyway, and lied down, satisfied and completely stuffed. Daddy was eating, too. Mother had eaten some, but stopped when Daddy started. "He's been like a little vulture," Mother stated.

"Well, it's better to be the vulture than the carcass," said Daddy. Mother started in on the carcass again. Between the two of them and my previous effort the carcass was completely eaten. A couple of times food began to spray out of Daddy's mouth from the coughing. He always took it slower after that, but in a few seconds he would be back at it like there was no tomorrow. He was hungry. We all had been.

Soon after they finished eating the rest of the new lionesses began to leave. I still heard a few unusual breaths, so I knew some of them were still there. Then the leader said, "Sire?" and I heard Kovu say, "Of course." I heard the breathing go away.

After a few seconds the leader finally spoke up again. "We have a pride again. I realize that some of you may not trust them immediately, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't give them a chance. What we should be doing is trying to help them in any way. We need this pride, so just try not to do anything rash. Please." (Little did I know that Kovu was giving almost the same speech in the den at the same time.)

"Your highness—" said one of the lionesses.

"And there will be no more of that, either. Kovu is our king, we need to show him our respect."

"Of course, Haja. But what I was going to say was that we realize what you've said. I think I speak for all of us when I say we welcome the new chance. We don't have any reason to mistrust them. They took us in of their own accord; I don't think they're going to do anything to hurt us. If you don't trust them, we understand; but that doesn't mean we don't trust them either. We welcome them. Whether or not you do is a completely different thing. Just please, keep your doubts to yourself. Just this once."

Haja was angry. I could tell. "Very well," she said. "I have one more thing to say. _Nothing_—and I mean _nothing_—is to be said about Pofu. _Nothing_."

"Of course."

"What do you think we are, fools?" asked another lioness.

Haja didn't answer for a second. "Just—just see what you can do to help."

"Of course, Haja." One by one the lionesses began to go back to the den, me among them, hanging from Mother's mouth again. She put me down in the den, and I ran over to Daddy. He lied down again, and a few seconds afterward he began to cough. I nuzzled him again, his warm breath and the even warmer lick he gave me reassuring.

"Uh, is he alright?" I spun around. It was one of the little voices I had heard when we came into the den.

"Of course he is!" I protested as I had done to Tumai. I was confused. I heard breathing, but it wasn't as high up as normal. It was lower, about my height. I tried to make it out. Try as hard as I could, I couldn't understand it. "Uh, Daddy?"

He laughed. "It's just a cub, Pofu."

"A—cub?"

"Yes. Like you. He isn't grown up yet."

"Yeah, haven't you ever seen a cub before?" asked the cub. His voice seemed to have a kind of arrogance to it, as if he was the top around here and he knew it all too well. I turned my gaze fully on him, and heard him gasp. "Oh . . . I'm sorry," he said, all arrogance gone. Then he asked me, the arrogance suddenly back, "I'm Taos. What's your name?"

"Pofu," I said. "Daddy, are you sure he's like me?"

"Of course," said Daddy. "He's probably just a month or two older than you, though."

"A month or two?" exclaimed Taos. "He's as almost as big as I am!"

"He just grows fast."

"You wanna play?" he asked.

"I just want to be here with Daddy," I said. I didn't want to leave him for anything.

"Pofu, you need to get to know some of the other cubs around here," said Daddy.

"But Daddy—"

"No buts. You can't just be hanging around me all day. Go on, go with Taos."

"Daddy," I pleaded.

"Don't worry; I'll still be here later."

"Alright," I conceded. I nuzzled him one last time and turned back to Taos.

"Come on, follow me," he said. I followed the sound of his little pawsteps as he ran out the den. He ran down the steps of Pride Rock. I followed him.

Now, before we go any further, I'd like to point out to you that I hate those stairs. I still hate them. I don't like them, and they definitely didn't like me, until I finally learned them and showed them who's boss. But in the meantime, I hated their guts, and they didn't care much for mine, either. So, I followed Taos down the stairs. More accurately, I took the first step and tumbled down the rest of the way, somehow hitting every hard place in between.

I heard Taos laughing when I hit the bottom. "Are you alright?" he finally managed to get out.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I think I'm fine." Everything was strange. Up was down, and down was off somewhere doing its own thing. I took a step toward what I thought was Taos's voice and immediately fell flat on my face again. I heard Taos laughing again.

"Taos!" reprimanded another small voice. It was different from Taos's voice, feminine. I tried to focus on the voice, and heard the sound of a paw cuffing a neck and Taos's cry of "Ow!" The new voice spoke again. "You know what the king said about the new ones." I heard pawsteps coming over to me, and then the new voice much closer. "Are you okay?" the voice asked softly.

I shakily got to my feet and shook my head vigorously. Things were becoming clearer. "I'm fine now." I could finally make out the number of cubs in front of me. There were four total, all of them making up Taos's little group. I suppose I would have been the fifth if things had turned out right.

"You didn't have to be such a jerk, Taos," the new cub reprimanded.

"You have to admit, it was pretty funny," said Taos.

The new cub let a chuckle escape her. "Just a little." I heard her turn back to me. "I'm Bayana," she said. "And you are . . .?"

"Pofu," I said, my voice chiming in with Taos's.

"Well, I'm Bayana, and this is—"

"Fina," another voice interrupted.

"Haja," said the third cub. This confused me beyond belief.

"You're not Haja," I said.

"Yes I am," Haja protested.

"But you're not. You just can't be."

"And why not?"

"'Cause Haja's bigger, and she's got a different voice, and a different smell, and she's . . . she's a hag."

"Hey, that's not very nice!" said Haja.

"But it's true!" I insisted.

"I am not a hag!"

"Oh!" The exclamation from Fina made me turn my head. "I think I see . . ." Her voice trailed off.

"What?" asked Taos.

"What's the name of that lioness that was leading you, Pofu?"

"Haja," I said. Fina burst out laughing. If what I remember is accurate—and I'd like to think it is—then the sounds I heard were her rolling on the ground in laughter. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"She—name—same—hee hee hahahaha!" Fina struggled to get words out between the laughs.

"Oh!" This time from Bayana. "They have the same name!"

"What?" asked Taos. "That's got to be one of the stupidest things I've heard."

"No, it works," Bayana insisted. "Pofu, this is Haja, and the lioness who came with you is _another_ Haja."

This wasn't helping my confusion at all. Then it suddenly dawned on me, too. "Oh!" I could see why Fina was laughing. It was funny. But still, it wasn't _that_ funny. Yet Fina was still laughing and there seemed to be no sign of letting up.

"Well, I don't think it's funny at all," said Haja haughtily.

Fina finally managed to control her giggles somewhat, just enough to point at Haja and say, "Hag!" before bursting into laughter again.

I still didn't have much of an idea of movement, but this is what I think happened now. Haja pounced on Fina, and the two began to roll over and over. Then Bayana jumped on, and then Taos yelled, "Come on, Pofu!" and jumped on as well. So what was I to do? I jumped right on top. Then we all just rolled around, each trying to come out on top.

It finally ended with us falling apart, with me on my back. The others slowly got to their feet while I lied on my back, trying to catch my breath. Then I heard Taos yell in triumph. "He's down! Let the tickling begin!"

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my entire life.

oOo

The day passed uneventfully. Pofu quickly made friends with the four cubs. The Outlanders slowly integrated into the pride, doing whatever they could in assistance and receiving more from the pride than they ever dreamed. They were allowed to wash themselves, something the younger lionesses hadn't ever dreamed of. In the Outlands water was precious, and they couldn't afford to spoil it as bathwater. But here, in the Pridelands, they were able to do that. They washed themselves, the younger ones that had been born in the Outlands timidly, the ones that had traveled there fanatically, and helping the younger lionesses understand the meaning of _clean_.

As soon as Pofu came back with the cubs, he got a lesson in hygiene as well. Despite his protests that this wasn't right, that it wasn't natural, that he didn't _need_ a bath, and that he was perfectly clean thank you very much, he was treated by Nyota to what was quite possibly the most thorough scrub-down a cub has ever had to endure, lasting all of an hour. He finally finished and was taken back up to the den for dinner, insisting that he would take the stairs by himself. His mother picked him up and carried him after the second time he fell down.

Mvushi laughed when he saw Pofu. "Who are you and what have you done with my son?" he asked weakly.

"Daddy," protested Pofu as he nuzzled his father's head. Mvushi began to cough again, weaker this time, and much longer than Pofu remembered. "Daddy?"

"I'm fine," said Mvushi. "I'm not sure if you are, though. What's this I hear about you and the stairs?" His voice was much weaker.

"Mom!"

Nyota laughed. "I'm sorry, honey. He asked what was making that horrible noise."

"Hey, Pofu!" It was Taos. "You want to eat with us? We got another buffalo!"

Pofu looked to his father. Mvushi nodded. "Yeah, sure," said Pofu. "Just a sec." He nuzzled his father one last time and then ran over to Taos. Mvushi watched the two go, then had his vision suddenly jarred by more coughing. He looked back up to his mate and saw her eyes filled with tears.

"You've known what was going to happen," said Mvushi.

"That doesn't help," Nyota said. She lied down next to her mate and laid her head in his mane. "I wish it didn't have to happen."

"Well, I'm still fighting." A single cough escaped him. He nuzzled Nyota. "You know I'll always love you."

"I know." Mvushi could feel his mane becoming damp next to her head.

"You've still got Pofu."

"But I want _you_." The tears were flowing freely. "Why can't I have you, too?"

"I'll be sure to ask the gods that." Mvushi swallowed hard. He could feel his own eyes tearing up as well. "Why don't we go somewhere a little more private, huh? Just for Pofu's sake." He heard Nyota sniffle as she drew her head back. She nodded her consent.

Mvushi got to his feet, almost collapsing again with the effort. He slowly made his way out of the den, his mate at his side. He stopped when he heard a cry of, "Hey Daddy, where're you guys going?"

"You're father and I are just going somewhere," said Nyota. "Don't worry, we'll be back soon." They continued out of the den, and walked along the ledge to the tanning rock. No one was down there now; they were all up in the den with their dinners. As soon as they arrived at the edge, Mvushi collapsed, coughing with no end in sight. After a few minutes it finally stopped. Nyota looked down at her mate, tears wetting the ground by her feet. _Why?_ she thought bitterly.

Mvushi reached up a paw to cradle her face. "It'll turn out okay. Somehow." Nyota nodded sadly. She lied down by her mate and nuzzled him, tears accenting his face as well. They stayed there, thinking of the few months that they had had together.

oOo

Mother and Daddy got back later than I thought they would. Taos showed to me all of the lions in the den. Almost all of the lionesses said something approximating, "Oh, you poor thing," when they heard of my blindness. I felt that I had been "You poor dear"ed to death. Grateful barely begins to describe how I felt when Daddy came back in. I ran over, entwining myself in his legs. He gently laid himself down on the floor of the den, and I jumped on his back, landing in his soft mane. It was immediately apparent to me. He was—weaker. He wasn't there as much. But his love for me was just as strong as ever, if not stronger. But still, there was sadness.

"Daddy—" I began.

"I'm fine," he said. "Fine. Just get some rest. It's time to go to bed." He laid his head down, and I heard Mother lie down next to him.

"Alright," I said. I buried my head in his mane, nuzzling close to him for warmth. I sighed a contented sigh. Everything was turning out wonderfully.

oOo

I woke up later that night. Suddenly Daddy and his love and everything about him had disappeared. I assumed I had rolled off him. I'd done that a few times. I stood up, realizing I was still in his mane. I lied back down, nuzzling into him, expecting that warm flood of love to wash over me.

There was nothing.

This disturbed me more than anything I'd ever felt. There wasn't a single thing, not a trace of him being there. I tried to dig into his mind, to feel his dreams. I found nowhere to go. "Daddy?" I asked. I tried to shake my head with my paw, failing to move the seemingly massive thing. I jumped down and began to nudge his head with my body. "Daddy, wake up." I pressed myself close to him again, feeling nothing but an empty void. Then a horrible realization came to me: I had felt nothingness before.

With the cubs.

Suddenly I was hysterical. "Daddy? Daddy!" I did everything I could have done to wake him up, biting his ear, nudging his head, poking his eye gently. Nothing worked. I took a few steps back, unable to believe it. He had been just fine earlier. He had said so. Suddenly a horrible thought came to me and I ran to Mother. "Mommy! Wake up!" I yelled into her ear.

She jumped up with a start. "Pofu!" she quietly reprimanded me. "Lions are trying to sleep."

"But I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Daddy."

"Don't worry. He'll be fine."

"But there's something wrong with him. I think . . ." I couldn't bring myself to say it. Suddenly Mother was scared. Very scared. She got up, knocking me off her leg as she did so. She rushed to Daddy, with me at her heels.

"Mvushi?" she whispered, then louder, "Mvushi?" And still louder, "Mvushi?" She was poking and prodding him, her breath coming to her in sharp gasps. She sat back, breathing heavily. "No—no, not—it's not happening—no—Mvushi—no." She began to sob uncontrollably. It was all I needed to have my fears confirmed. I began to cry. Not little cries, but huge, body-wracking sobs, sobs that woke the entire den. Mother wrapped her leg around me, pulling me close. I wept into her stomach.

"What's going on?" a lioness asked.

"Daddy's gone," I cried out.

Soon the entire den was up and around us. I didn't really notice. I was numb with shock, but it nowhere near lessened the pain. My father, my friend, my confidante, my teacher, the one who loved me so much he risked his life for me time and again was—gone.

oOo

I suppose some people would call the funeral beautiful. For me, it was life-changing. It was kind of an odd thing in one respect. All of the Pridelanders left the den when we held it. All except one. Tumai. She absolutely refused to leave the den for the ceremony, despite (big) Haja's protests. I imagine that they would still be arguing to this day if Mother hadn't said it was alright. Even Haja didn't dare cross Mother that day.

I still don't quite understand why Tumai stayed there. It's a quality I don't think I'll ever quite grasp. She had—she has a fierce devotion to my father. And to me. And to the Beast. And others. She'll go out of her way for them. I've looked through her mind for hours on end, and I still haven't found anything that explains it. I'm beginning to think that it's something you can't learn.

The funeral was quiet. The Pridelanders speak at their funerals. Wonderful elegies and eulogies, and plenty of crying all around. I prefer our way. Not one word is said. I didn't even need it explained to me. The quiet was just there, a law that seemed unbreakable. It was awesome, not in the wonderful sense of the word, but truly awe-inspiring. I didn't think about it at the time. All of this came to me in other funerals.

I cried. Silently. All of the lions did to some extent. Even Haja. It was horrible for me. I was left with a void. A horrible, empty void, one that I could never, ever fill again. I was crushed. Tears flowed down my face as they had been doing on and off for hours. I never realized my body could have held that much water. I wanted to go to my father, nuzzle him lovingly again, and to feel his warm soothing thoughts flow over me. But I knew I wouldn't ever be able to feel his love ever again. He was gone.

_But I'm here_.

My head jerked up, looking at my father's body. I could have sworn I had heard his voice. But he hadn't moved.

_I really am here_, his voice insisted. I felt warmth grow in my body, flowing over me, calming me.

_Daddy?_

_Yes_. _I'm here with you_. _I'll always be here for you_. _Just like I promised_.

_Oh, Daddy_. The wonderful happiness and relief I felt was indescribable. I still had my father. He was with me, always with me. Forever.

oOo

Taos came up to Pofu after the funeral. He didn't really know how he would handle talking to Pofu. He'd never been in Pofu's place. He still had his father. And even when Kovu was gone, he'd still have his brother, Fujo. But Pofu had no one. No father, no friends. He still had his mother, but it just wasn't a substitute for a father. Taos sighed as he looked at Pofu walking back from giving Mvushi's body back to the earth. He'd try to be the best friend Pofu could have. He felt he needed to. He'd give it his all.

Pofu walked by, his mother in front of him, her tail in his mouth. His face was still wet from crying. "Pofu?" Taos asked uncertainly. Pofu's head jerked up at the sound of his name, his mother's tail still in his mouth. "You okay?" Pofu's mother began to climb the stairs to Pride Rock. Pofu let go and turned to face Taos, his face completely blowing Taos's mind.

Pofu was smiling.

"Course I'm fine," said Pofu. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"But . . . but your dad . . ."

"He's fine, Taos. I know he is."

Taos stared at Pofu uncertainly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Pofu laughed. "I'm happier than I ever have been." Then the smile slid off his face. "But I am _so_ hungry."

Taos laughed. "Alright, fine. There should be some stuff left over from breakfast in the den. Come on." He ran up the stairs, watching Pofu slowly traverse them from his vantage point on the top, giving Pofu pointers along the way. Pofu reached the top, his face still etched with that smile. Taos couldn't help but smile, too. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought it would.

oOo

Tumai watched Pofu closely. Every time she could she was watching him. Nyota wasn't in any shape to be watching a cub. She knew that, and she was grateful. She told Tumai that. She never questioned Tumai's motives; she was just relieved to know her cub was being taken care of.

So Tumai watched him. She looked over every aspect of Pofu's life. What surprised her most of all was how happy he was. He was just as happy as before his father died, if not happier. She didn't understand that. She had asked Nyota about that, but Nyota shut up as soon as the topic was breached. Tumai thought that maybe even she didn't know. It didn't really make that much difference so long as Pofu was happy, just as Mvushi had asked.

And he was happy. He had friends now. He was almost always with Taos, Haja, Bayana, and Fina. But especially with Taos. The two seemed almost like brothers. Taos went out of his way to be a friend for Pofu. He took Pofu around the limited area that he could go, helping him learn where everything was and helping him remember who everyone was. Pofu seemed to learn things at an astonishingly fast rate. Soon he could tell who was who for every lion. He was, for all intents and purposes, a normal cub. Except for one little thing.

The stairs.

Every day he would try to get up them, and every day he would end up falling, at least once if not multiple times. It would have been easier to just us the ramp, but Pofu refused to give up. Then one day, one happy day, he did it. All by himself, with no help from Taos. It was a glorious day. Save for the fact that he jumped straight up in the air at the end, yelling, "I did it!", then lost his balance when he came back down and fell down the entire flight of stairs. But he was right back up them in no time.

So Pofu slowly overcame all of his obstacles, slowly but surely, under the watchful gaze of Tumai and the slowly increasing gaze of his mother. For once, everything was going his way.


	2. Night: Torment

A/N: I apologize for the previous version of this chapter, which had no spacing at all. If you didn't see that version, ignore this.

Night: Torment

_In my solitude you haunt me_

_With reveries of days gone by_

_In my solitude you taunt me_

_With memories that never die_

_I sit in my chair_

_Filled with despair_

_There's no one could be so sad_

_With gloom ev'rywhere_

_I sit and I stare_ . . .

How many of you have ever talked to yourself? Come on, be honest. Hey, what about you two, in the back? That's better. Now how many of you have actually heard yourself answer? I thought so. Well, for a while, I heard myself answer. And it didn't surprise me at all. I loved my father. I still do.

You wouldn't believe how much faster my father and I developed and honed my skill with him helping me this way. We were running like a cheetah compared with the tortoise's rate we had before. The difference was that before it was completely hit-and-miss. Now, Daddy seemed to know everything intuitively. Granted, we still went slowly, but we made steady progress. It became less and less difficult to look into minds to see what they were thinking. Later it became insanely easy, just a tap of the paw to find out what a person was thinking about, and just hold it there for a little while longer if I wanted to look for something. But that was _way_ down the road.

You might be wondering where I found all this time to practice. It's simple: I did it when they were asleep. Sometimes I even did it when I was asleep, but that was different. That was Daddy doing that. But I would make my rounds at night if I happened to be awake, going around from lioness to lioness, poking my nose into their thoughts, just picking a different and random one each night.

I received a huge shock one night. I found I could see. The prince had just come back. No one knew where he had been. Except maybe the king, but he wasn't going to say anything. I wouldn't have either if I were him. He probably thought everyone would think he was crazy. But I didn't know that then, and I did want to know what had happened. I could either choose the prince or the king. Daddy wanted me to choose the prince. And we always obeyed Daddy.

So I tried twice. The first time it didn't work. In the first place, I couldn't find the prince. Then Daddy reminded me how he had always been on top of Pride Rock before. I managed to escape from Taos and his group and went up there. It was difficult. I'd never been there, so I had no idea what it was like. The most I could do was just listen for the prince. I found his breathing and just walked toward it. He was lying on his back and I just walked onto his stomach. I'd rarely ever seen him, so I still had very little idea of who he was. I did my best to fix his body in my mind as I sat down on my chest.

Then Fujo spoke. "Yes?" I didn't answer, but just continued trying to observe him. "I thought you were blind."

"I'm not blind," I protested. "I just can't see."

"Uh, right." I turned around on his chest and tried to look into his mind as Daddy instructed me. I found he had left because "Taraju" had told him to. I had no idea who that was. "So, whatcha doing up here?" he asked.

"Daddy told me you were up here." I watched as he tried to understand who Daddy was as I still looked through his head. I still kept coming back with the thought of a lioness.

"Daddy?" Fujo interrupted.

"Yes. He said he'd show me how to see. He already showed me how to listen."

_Don't look there_, Daddy said. _This is getting you nowhere_.

"You could hear just fine when you came here."

"I mean listen _differently_." _Look at what he's thinking_. _Try to see as he sees_.

"Okay, you've lost me now."

I sighed, listening to Daddy's comforting words about his ignorance. "It's okay, he said you wouldn't understand."

I looked intently into what he was thinking, and was somewhat repulsed by the sudden surge of anger. Fujo thought, _Dad's the one who doesn't understand things_. He's_ the one who shuts himself off from the world if he doesn't know what something is_. "Maybe he can't help it," I volunteered.

"Oh, he can help it. He's just a stuck-up, overcautious, jerk who refuses to see anything if it goes against what he says."

"But doesn't that mean he can't help it?"

"No."

_This guy is as much of an idiot as when I was alive_, Daddy said.

"Daddy said he doesn't like you."

_Thank you very much for spreading that around_ came from both Daddy's mind and his. "He'd rather have my brother. _He_ probably performed to 'expected standards.'"

"I don't understand." I tried to search for something to help me comprehend all the weird things Fujo was throwing at me. I decided that maybe Daddy was right when he said that I shouldn't talk to people when I was picking their brains. It made for a very confusing conversation.

"I don't expect you to," Fujo said, then thought, _You're only a cub_.

This infuriated me beyond belief. I snapped out of his mind and whirled around. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Did I say that out loud?" I treated him to the Pofu Death Glare. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Now would you nicely lift your leg? That still hurts there."

I got off him angrily. Daddy was right about him. I walked back down to the den, only to receive a dressing-down from Mother about how I shouldn't wander off.

oOo

I woke up that night with the need to go. I didn't have to ask for Mother's help anymore. I could just go down the stairs, heed nature's call, then walk right back up. She was very pleased when I could stop waking her up. I walked back into the den when Daddy ordered me _Try again_. I walked over to Fujo and jumped up onto him. I loved the softness of his mane. It reminded me of having Daddy around again. It may have been nicer to have him with me always, but it lacked a few touches here and there.

I buried myself into his mane as I did the same for his mind. I heard Daddy coaching me. _Look inside him_. _See as he sees_. _Immerse yourself completely in his mind_. I tried to do that. It was a lot easier for him to say it that for me to do it. I might have stared into his head for hours. I picked up parts of his routine, his walks, his likes, his dislikes, his little scab on the underside of his left hind paw that irritated him to no end. I picked up abstract thoughts of his dreams swirling in his head. Every bit of it was about food. Then I received the biggest shock of my life.

One still picture of his dream.

It was almost so much that I fell out. I would have fallen off him if I hadn't tangled myself so much into his mane. That picture sent me reeling. It was full of carcasses raining out of the sky, and I had a mouth big enough to swallow one whole. I lied there, looking at it, drinking in the colors, the sights. Then I suddenly felt an overwhelming desire for more. I plunged myself into his mind again, and stopped abruptly when I heard Daddy's cautioning voice. _Not again_. _That's enough for tonight_.

_But Daddy_—

_No buts_. _Come on, you need your rest_. _Go to sleep_.

_Yes, Daddy_. I closed my eyes and nuzzled further into Fujo's mane. I had my first dream that night. Granted, it was just one picture for the entire night, but it was still a dream.

oOo

Morning came. No matter how much you scream or beg or plead, it just walks right into the den as if it owns the place, whether you like it or not. Same for Afternoon and Night. Jerks. And along with morning came Fujo's consciousness. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of this.

I am not a morning lion, despite the fact that, to this day, I still take walks at the crack of dawn around the Pridelands. But that doesn't mean I'm awake. I am not awake until I have plunged my head very, _very_ deep into the water hole. And I rarely ever do that for one reason. It is a myth that lions do not like water. We are not remotely afraid of the stuff. It's just perfect on hot days. In fact, the only ones you'll ever hear complain about it are the lions, never the lionesses. And we only complain about it for one reason: Do you have any idea how long it takes these stupid manes to dry? Especially mine.

But that day I didn't have a mane. Fujo had the mane. And I was stuck in it. So you can imagine my mild surprise when my sleep-drugged brain registered _Oh, look, the earth is moving_. Then I was rudely snapped awake by falling out of his mane and hitting the ground with a grunt. Hard. Fujo seemed as surprised as I was. "What were you doing in my mane?" he asked.

"It's nice. And fluffy. And I like it." The last part was almost entirely bit off by a yawn. "It's a lot more comfy than Mom."

"That's nice. Now bugger back into the den before she misses you." He started to walk away.

"Can't I go with you?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

"But you're walking away," I protested. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"How do you even know I'm going anywhere?"

"You do this every day. You told me." Not exactly true, but it was to me.

"When?"

"Last night."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

Fujo sighed. "Alright. You can come."

"Can I ride?" I asked eagerly.

"_No_."

"Aww . . ."

"Now come on," he said irritably. He walked down the stairs. I would have walked down those stairs, too, if I had been awake. But no, the stairs couldn't be nice for once. I bounced down every last one, and landed on the ground at their feet, moaning. "You know, maybe it would be safer if you did ride."

"Okay." I shakily got to my feet, completely disoriented again. "Where are you?"

Fujo groaned and walked over to me. He crouched and said, "Up." I scrambled up into his mane after a few seconds of trying to find a foothold. I felt Fujo's pain as I found one and used it. "Gods, what are you trying to do, rip it out?"

I secured myself in his mane and stayed quiet, looking into his mind again as he started walking. Daddy gave me instructions again, and I found myself trying to do the best I could to obey them. It was remarkably easy. Fujo's mind was blissfully clear. I started getting separate, disjointed pictures.

_Ask him what it's like_, Daddy said. "What's it like?"

"Well, there's the sun coming up over the horizon, and you can hear some of the birds who are already up. There's a herd of gazelle on the right that are getting up . . ." I found myself fixated in awe as moving images flooded into my mind along with an appreciation for all of its beauty. I could have sat on his back all day, just staring at the kingdom. Then the picture spluttered and died. ". . . oh, that must have _hurt_."

"What? Don't stop now!" I wanted those pictures back.

"There's a lion that looks like . . . it's like he's got a broken leg and _walking_ on it."

"How can you break a leg?" I asked, puzzled. Having no picture to back it up only made it more confusing.

"A lot of ways. Look, do you think you can find your way back?"

I doubted it. I had been so wrapped up in his images that I didn't notice anything. "Uh, mayb­—"

"Good enough. Now get off. End of the line."

"Huh?"

"Off. Now." I jumped off uncertainly, almost killing myself with the landing. "Good, now get back and tell the ki—no, the queen that she needs to get out here right away. Even better, tell Aunt 'Tani. GO!" I went as fast as I could. "Hey, it's the other way!" I skidded to a stop and turned around. I ran full speed towards Pride Rock, Daddy urging me on when I felt myself getting tired. I ran up the steps perfectly after crashing into them head first, then ran into the den, breathing like I was about to die. I staggered over to the king and queen.

"Sire," I managed to get out. I took a few more breaths.

"What is it?" the king asked.

"Fujo . . . wants Aunt 'Tani . . . and the queen . . ." I collapsed to the ground, still out of breath.

"Vitani, come on," the king said, running out of the den. I heard him being followed by Vitani.

"Hey, he wanted me!" protested the queen.

"Pofu what's going on?" It was Mother.

"Fujo . . . lion . . ." I took a few more breaths, finally getting my heart slowed down.

"Pofu, what are you talking about?"

"Fujo wanted me to get Aunt 'Tani to see a lion."

"Your majesty?"

"I know less about it than you," said the queen.

"Well _you_ shouldn't be running off like that," Mother said to me.

"But Mom, I was with Fujo!"

"Well, there's no reason for you to be bugging him this early in the morning."

The queen laughed. "Don't worry. He takes these walks every morning."

"Are you really sure it's not a problem, your majesty?"

"Yes, there's no problem. And I've told you, stop being so formal. I'm Kiara, not 'your majesty.'"

"Yes, your maj—yes, Kiara."

"That's better. Now, how about helping me with the breakfast?"

"Of course."

"But Mom," I protested, "I'm hungry _now_."

"You can wait a little while. Now stay in the den until I get back."

"Yes, Mom."

The queen laughed again. "They're so cute when they're that age." She and Mother walked away, and they and several other lionesses left the den. Soon it was pretty well cleared out. I lied back down on the floor.

"Hey Pofu. What's up?" It was Taos.

"I'm so hungry."

"Yeah, me too."

"I could eat a buffalo."

"Yeah . . . or a nice, big wildebeest . . . and finish it off with a zebra . . ."

"Stop it! You'll only make it worse."

"And then," he said, obviously enjoying himself, "a nice fat warthog."

"Stop—" I stopped in mid-sentence, my nose meeting a wonderful aroma. I began to sniff. I got to my feet, following the scent.

"Uh, Pofu? What are you doing?"

"I smell meat."

"You always smell meat here."

"No it's . . . it's just over here . . . oh, _yes!_"

"Whoa . . ."

I could smell a nice big strip of meat, just lying in the back of the den, with no one around to love it.

"It looks lonely, doesn't it?" Taos asked.

"Yeah, let's be its friends."

"I doubt there was ever a weirder set of friends."

I agreed. I would have said something, but my mouth was too full.

oOo

I generally had a great time with Taos. He easily is the best friend I have ever (and probably will ever) had. That almost changed that day. Fujo went to sleep, and stayed that way until dinner. He was generally good for some fun with the cubs. Just not when he was snoring.

So Taos and I got the group together and decided we'd have some fun. Unfortunately, when we decided that, we didn't know what fun we were going to have. So we spent about half the day lying around, occasionally wrestling, Taos sometimes coming out on top, sometimes me, and then the girls whenever we felt like letting them win. I may have been younger than them, but I was bigger. And I just kept on growing, and growing, and growing . . . Fujo joked later that they thought we'd have to get a bigger den if I didn't stop. I didn't. The den stayed.

But as for right now, not later, we were bored. Then Fina had an idea. "Ooh!" she squealed. "I know just what to do!" She was met by a chorus of "What?" "Well, how about we try to walk?"

Taos groaned. "We know how to walk, Fina."

"Yeah, but on your hind legs?"

We thought about that for a second. No, we definitely didn't know how to do that. "So," Bayana asked, "how do we do it?"

"It's easy. All we have to do is push against each other."

A round of "Huh?"

"Here, I'll show you. You get up on your hind legs like this, and you push against the other one's paws."

"Oh, I think I see," said Haja. "Here, do it again." I sensed both of them rising, then I heard a pair of "Oof!"'s and heard them fall to the ground. Taos and Bayana laughed wildly.

"Yeah, that's showin' us how it's done!" said Taos. "Here, Pofu, you and me try."

"I still don't really get it," I said. I was no longer ashamed of saying that kind of things around them. They understood.

"Look, just get up on your hind legs," said Taos. I reared up. "Good! Now, I'll do it with you. Try to find me and push against me. Okay, on three. One, two, three!"

We both reared up. My paws flailed wildly, and finally hit something solid and something squishy, turning out to be Taos's chest and face. A moment later I felt one of his paws on one of my forelegs and the other on my chest. "Oh, yeah, that's really good, guys," said Bayana.

"We're up, aren't we?" said Taos, his voice muffled. My paw was stuck on top of his nose. "Okay, we're going to do this real slow, Pofu. When I tell you, move the left paw, and I'll move—"

"Your left or mine?" I interrupted.

He thought about it a moment. "Mine. Your right. I'll move my left. Now, try to make them meet when I say to." He took a deep breath. "Okay, go." I removed my paw from his chest, and he removed his from my leg. "Alright, just a little bit more to the left—my left, your right. Okay, that's too far."

I could feel my hind legs shaking. _We weren't meant to stand on them like this_, I thought bitterly. I wanted to get this over with. From Taos's groans, he did, too. I did what seemed like the best idea at the time. I went into Taos's mind to get a picture of my paw. It'd go faster that way. I reached in—

—and fell to the ground after a few seconds, stunned by the sudden revulsion that I received. I heard the girls screaming. Taos gave a yell and ran, followed by the girls shrieking their heads off. "Hey, wait, come back!" I yelled. "What happened?" They kept running. "Come back!" It was no use. "Please," I said softly. "Come back." They kept running, their screams fading into the distance. I sighed and hung my head. _What happened?_

_You scared them_, said Daddy.

_I didn't mean to_.

_But you did_.

I choked back a sob and slowly made my way back to Pride Rock. Mother was there when I arrived. "Pofu, what happened? Where's Taos and the others?"

"They don't like me anymore," I said. I pressed myself against her stomach. She wrapped a foreleg around me.

"Oh, that's not true," she said softly.

"They hate me."

"Now that's definitely not true. Why would they hate you?"

"I scared them."

Mother drew in a gasp. After a moment's hesitation she said, "No, you couldn't have. You're not the kind of cub that goes around scaring others."

I stopped talking after that. She refused to see the truth, there was no way I could make her see it. I just stopped trying. I stayed in the den that day, waiting for them until they came back. When they did I got up and ran over to them, only to have them scatter, running to their mothers. I almost started crying. The only reason I didn't was I was too proud.

Instead I hung my head and shuffled over to Mother. She had to leave soon, though, to help with the hunting. I lied in a little spot of the den, alone, eyes closed, feigning sleep. I almost was asleep. I didn't feel like going through someone's mind. Even that wouldn't cheer me up. Thankfully, the act worked, and no one asked any questions. I just didn't think I could take it if someone pointed my solitude out to me.

Later the hunters came back. Mother had thought of me and gotten a little carcass for me and Taos. That really hurt. I had heard all of them talking as soon as I was "asleep," all of it about me. Even to Taos I was a "freak" now. At first I hoped it was reluctantly on his part, but it happened too often to be that. So I ate by myself when Mother brought it. I couldn't finish it, of course, not by myself. The entire meal they ate together, talking in quiet, hushed whispers that even _I_ couldn't hear. Every time I turned my head to hear them better they stopped talking.

I lied down when I felt I could finish no more and gave a huge yawn. They were still talking. After a while I couldn't take it. I got up and went down to the tanning rock. No one was there right now. Everyone was up in the den, eating.

As soon as I got down there it all burst forth. A tear slid down my face, then another, and another. My shoulders began heaving, and pretty soon I was sobbing uncontrollably. Daddy told me _That's it_. _Let it all out_. I did. I had never felt so alone. I just couldn't stop crying. I didn't even notice the lioness already down there.

"Pofu?" Tumai asked.

"Go away!" I said.

"What?"

"You don't like me either, so just go away!"

"Pofu, that's crazy. Why wouldn't I like you?"

"Go away!"

She came over to me and wrapped a foreleg around me. I tore away angrily, but not before I felt her compassion and concern for me. It was too much. I pressed myself to her stomach, and she paced her leg around me again. She began to slowly rock back and forth, saying things like "It's okay." I don't know how long we were there.

Then a new voice came. "What are you doing with my son?" Mother asked. She gasped, and then said quietly, "What's wrong?"

Tumai said quietly, "I don't know."

"Pofu?"

"They hate me."

Mother sighed. "Pofu, they don't hate you. Why would they?"

"I scared them."

There was a period of silence. Mother took over for Tumai as other lionesses came down. It was reassuring to feel her love. It had never been quite as strong as Daddy's. But the sheer size of it still amazes me to this day. Then Tumai spoke up. "If it's any help, Pofu, I like you."

"And Fujo," said Mother.

"Yeah, and Kovu, and Kiara, and Vitani . . ." The list went on, Mother supplementing it occasionally. It _did_ make me feel a little better. "Who really cares about what those stuck-up cubs think anyway?" Tumai finished.

_I care_.

But I still felt better. Tumai excused herself to go back up to the den. I stayed down there with Mother and the other lionesses. I actually began to feel okay as I heard Mother and the other lionesses talking. I just lied there by her side and immersed myself in her thoughts. Slowly I got back to normal.

Almost.

Still, I was better than I had been. Good enough to actually complain about going to bed. Mother finally promised me I could sleep with Fujo again tonight. Appeased, I walked back up to the den with her. Fujo was lying in the corner. Taos and his friends were in another corner. I ignored them. I looked back to Mother. "Are you sure it's okay?" I asked. She simply nudged me towards Fujo. I walked over to him. "Do you mind if I sleep with you again tonight?"

"Huh?" he said. "No, not at all. Hop on up." I did so, with a little help from him. "Sweet dreams." I snuggled into his mane that was so like Daddy's, as well as into his thoughts. They were on Tumai. _She never thought much of me anyway_.

"No, she likes you," I managed sleepily before I finally drifted off.

oOo

I woke up the next morning by hitting the ground. Fujo was standing over me. "Are we going for a walk again?" I asked eagerly.

"_I'm_ going for a walk again," he said. "Are you really sure _you_ should be going?"

"Why?"

"Well, from what I heard, your mother was _very_ worried about you yesterday."

"She didn't even know I was gone until I came back for Sire."

Fujo paused. "Alright, fine, you can come."

"Yes!" I jumped towards him, hitting my head on his side while the rest went under him, resulting with me landing flat on my back.

"I didn't tell you to get on yet." There was a note of laughter in his voice. He stooped down. "Alright, try again."

I made it, without any help. I secured myself in his mane, then asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to stay here?"

"Huh? Yeah, you're fine." I happily delved into his thoughts, not even needing Daddy's help this time. It was just as beautiful today as it was yesterday. There was just one little problem. I had to see through Fujo's eyes. Today he didn't feel like looking up at the scenery much. Mostly all I saw was the ground as he stared down at it, thinking hard. One recurring thought was about Taraju, whoever that was.

I asked him, "Who's Taraju?"

"Huh? Oh, he was my brother. He was the guy who was with you in the Outlands."

I felt a chill run through me. The lion he was talking about with such warmth in his voice was the Beast. I decided to set him straight. "He was a bad lion."

"No, Taraju wasn't a bad lion. He changed. Now, the guy who he was before he changed was bad, what's his name . . ."

I looked into his mind. "Akasare?" I finally came up with.

"Yeah, that sounds right. He was bad. Taraju was sorry for what he did to you."

"He wanted me dead," I said firmly. "I wasn't supposed to happen."

"What?"

"I wasn't planned. And whatever wasn't planned, he didn't want. He didn't like me."

"I don't even think he knew you existed."

"Then why did Mommy and Daddy always have to hide me? I didn't like hiding."

He didn't have an answer for that. Sadly, my entire plan had backfired. Instead of him looking up at the scenery at all now, he stared firmly at the ground, immersed in thought. His thoughts didn't leave the Beast for the entire walk. It was almost enough to make me wonder if maybe there was something about the Beast I didn't know.

I stayed on his back until we came back up to the den. I hopped off and suddenly realized almost everyone was gone. _Where were they?_ Mother called, "Pofu!"

I scampered over to her. "Where is everyone?"

"Out hunting. We Outlanders decided to show them how to _really_ hunt."

"Why aren't you with them?"

"I wanted to wait for you, silly."

"Oh." The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. The day wouldn't even be worth mentioning except for three things. Fujo left right after breakfast. The second was so earth-shattering that I didn't believe it right then. It slowly grew over time, solidifying in my mind, starting with Fujo's thoughts of Taraju's goodness.

Even Daddy could be wrong.

The third thing seems hardly worth mentioning, but it seemed important to the Pridelanders, so I'll say it anyway. Some famous lioness died during that night. Nela or something. I'd never even looked into her mind, let alone talked to her. Of all the things, it's a little scary that that's what I missed most about her.

oOo

Kiara woke up late. She always enjoyed sleeping in on the days that she didn't have to hunt. Besides, she was the queen. Everyone kept quiet when the queen wanted to sleep. She yawned and looked around the den. There were hunting lessons for the pride again today. There was no doubt that they all needed more practice. Especially her. Out of all of the hunters, only she and Shani had managed to get hurt so badly they actually needed to sit out, herself just through accident, Shani through arrogance. There Shani was, lying on her side, a scowl plainly visible on her face.

It hadn't been a good idea for either of them to walk back to the den. Shani was just too uppity to allow herself to be carried, and the queen couldn't very well be carried if her subjects refused the same treatment. So both of their injuries had only been exaggerated, expanding the one day rest to a possible three or maybe even four days.

Kiara looked further around the den. It was empty except for her, Shani, Nala, Majadi, Edaha, and the Outlander Nyota and her cub. Pofu, that was it. Even all the other cubs had gone to watch the hunt. She stood up shakily, her injured leg almost giving way. "You shouldn't be walking, your highness," said Edaha.

"It's not too far," Kiara protested. "Besides, how could a little exercise hurt?"

"Ask Rafiki. But still, _I_ wouldn't be walking on it. That was a pretty nasty blow."

"I'll be careful." Kiara limped over to her mother. She was still asleep. _And I thought I was the only late riser_. "Mom?" Kiara whispered gently into Nala's ear. Nala didn't stir. "Come on, wake up." Kiara poked her mother. She still didn't move. "Mom!" Kiara groaned, and pushed her mother.

Nala rolled over onto her back, not moving.

Kiara drew in a gasp. "Mom? _Mom?_ Mom!" Nala still didn't move. Kiara frantically began to nudge her, trying to rouse her mother. "No—wake up! Wake up NOW!" The other lionesses had come over, Pofu staying behind.

"I—I can't believe it," said Majadi quietly. "She's—"

"No!" Kiara said. "Don't say it! She isn't! She just can't be!" Tears began to stream down her face. "She can't be!"

The other lionesses were crying, too, all but Nyota. To her, Nala had just been a kind old lioness in the back of the den. But to the others . . . they all shared Kiara's feeling. She couldn't be gone. She just couldn't. Not _Nala_. She couldn't just leave them like that. Nala had saved them. All of them. She couldn't just be gone now. It just wasn't _fair_.

The hunters returned in high spirits. Those spirits crashed to the ground as soon as they came into the den and saw Nala's body laid out in the center of the den. The very sight of it was enough to start some of them crying. Others had their emotions well up in them slowly. Even the cubs wept. Nala had always loved them. She'd always had a story when you were bored, or a joke when you were unhappy, and she had never _ever_ been strict. She had loved them, and they loved her back, dearly.

The hunt was wasted that day. No one ate. It was a day of mourning.

oOo

Tumai woke early the next day. There was an empty void in her heart now, one that had kept her tossing and turning all night. No one had slept easily that night. She got up at last and walked outside, the cool air dispelling all drowsiness. It was almost still dark, the sun barely beginning to creep up on the edge of the earth. She gave a sigh and walked down Pride Rock's ramp. She didn't have any plan in mind, and her feet steered her towards the nearest water hole. She wondered how Kovu and Fujo would take it when they got back.

She heard a rustle in the grass. She stiffened. It was unlikely that there was anything out there actually desperate enough to kill her, but Fujo did say something about there being another lion in the Pridelands. Granted, he was supposed to be out of them, but rogues rarely listened to royal decrees. Then a little voice piped up, "Tumai?"

Tumai relaxed. "Is that you Pofu?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I was thirsty." Pofu stepped into view. "What are you doing?"

"I was—" Tumai hesitated. She didn't actually know _what_ she was doing. "I guess I'm just going on a walk."

"Can I come?"

Tumai hesitated again. It was bad enough that the Pridelanders were feeling terrible, she didn't want to worry Nyota, too. She felt something and looked down to see Pofu entwining himself between her forelegs, his tail wrapped several times around her right one. "Don't worry about Mom," he said. "I'm usually with Fujo, remember?"

"Well . . ."

"Please?"

"Alright, but it's your fault if she's mad."

"Can I ride?" Pofu asked, disentangling himself.

"Ride?"

"On your back."

Tumai looked at him incredulously. "Pofu, what do you think I am, a lion?"

"Aren't you?"

"No, I'm a lion_ess_. I mean, do you have any idea how big you are? You're even bigger than Taos."

"So?" said Pofu bitterly. "What does Taos matter?"

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just, he was the biggest cub, and you're even bigger than him now."

"But why does that matter?"

"I—I'm just not sure I _can_ carry you."

"Well . . . alright then. I'll just go back up to the den." Pofu began to shuffle off, feeling truly miserable. Not even Tumai wanted to be with him.

"Wait! I didn't say I couldn't try."

Pofu turned back to her, a smile on his face. "Really?"

Tumai crouched down. "Really. Now, come on." She wasn't going to let Mvushi down like that. Pofu scrambled up her side, his claws digging gently into her side, looking for a purchase. He slid back down, then jumped instead, landing on her back. He righted himself, draping his tail down her slim side as he put his forelegs on opposite sides of her neck.

She got to her feet, finding the job much easier than she thought it would be. She thought she wouldn't be able to get off the ground. Pofu was roughly a quarter of her size, and only a few months old. But just because it was easier didn't mean it was easy. She nearly collapsed to the ground with the effort of raising him. Her muscles just weren't used to it. But she made it.

"See?" said Pofu when she got up. "You can do it."

"Alright, I can," she conceded with a smile. "Where do you wanna go?"

"I dunno. Just wherever Fujo goes."

"That's the entire kingdom," she said disbelievingly.

"We've got time. The sun's barely up."

"Huh? How'd you know?"

"Uh . . . good time sense."

"Must be pretty good. You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Yep."

Tumai started walking, finding it much easier than standing up. Still, she wasn't sure she could make it around the whole kingdom. "You'll be fine," Pofu said.

"Hopefully," Tumai muttered. She didn't enjoy the idea of collapsing a mile away from Pride Rock. She was silent for several minutes, her thoughts involuntarily shifting back to Nala. She had always been almost a legend to her, somewhat larger than life. And now she was gone. First Taraju, then Mvushi, and now Nala. All in the space of a few weeks. _What is going on with the world?_

"I—I'm sorry about what happened to Nela."

"It's Nala," Tumai corrected.

"What _did_ happen to her?"

Tumai almost laughed. "You mean you're sorry for something you don't know about?"

"Yes. I just want you to explain it to me."

Tumai didn't know how to explain death to a cub. _Besides_, she reasoned, _who am I to expose a cub to it?_

"You wouldn't be exposing me. I think it's the same thing that happened to Daddy, I'm just not sure."

_It is, you poor thing_. _I just don't know how to tell you about death_.

"Oh, so it's called death? I didn't know what that was before. I didn't have anything to place it with. Huh. Death."

Tumai stopped with a sudden fear. "Get off," she breathed. "Get off right now."

"Huh?"

"_Please!_" Pofu jumped off, Tumai feeling a load lifted from her. "Pofu," she said gently, "Did I say any of that out loud?"

Pofu stared at the ground, silent.

"Pofu?"

"Do I have to answer?" he asked timidly.

"Well . . . no, I suppose not. But I'd like it."

Pofu remained silent.

"Please?"

"No," he said, barely audible. "You thought it."

Tumai took a step back, her mind reeling. _Oh gods, what_ is _he?_

Pofu began to cry. "You don't like me now either, do you?" Tumai stared down at the cub in a mixture of shock and pity. "Daddy says you don't like me."

"Of—of course I like you, Pofu," she said gently. "I'm just not sure—"

"No you don't," said Pofu, crying harder. "You don't like me. Taos doesn't like me. Fujo doesn't like me. Mommy doesn't like me. You all _hate_ me."

Tumai wanted to say something to comfort him, but Pofu scared her. She didn't know what to do. "Don't be silly. We like you." She could almost see Pofu now as a crying cub, not a strange and frightening thing. It wouldn't last long. "But why didn't you tell us?"

"Mommy said not to. And Daddy agreed. They knew I'd scare you. You wouldn't like us then. I scare the pride, too."

"Who? The Outlanders?"

"Yes," he said, the tears slowing somewhat.

"What—what can you do?"

"I can see into your head. That's how Haja thinks of it, anyway. I don't know how I do it. I thought everyone could do it, until Daddy said he couldn't, and when Mommy screamed when she found out. I can see what they think. Sometimes I can even see pictures. Actually seeing . . . Daddy taught me to do that."

Pofu suddenly looked up from the ground. For eyes that couldn't see, they certainly could portray emotions. "Please don't tell anyone," he said desperately. He walked over and pressed himself against Tumai's leg. "Please." She drew her leg back, wanting to keep her thoughts private. Pofu started to cry again. "See? You don't like me."

"No. I'm just . . ."

"Scared." Tumai stared at the cub, the tears stopping as he spoke that last word. "You're—you're scared of me?"

"Well—yes."

"Why?"

"You can do a pretty scary thing. Maybe that's why Taos and the others are scared of you."

"But I never let them know," he protested. "I never let anyone know."

Tumai stared at him. "Can you see what I'm thinking? Now?"

"I have to touch you. And only if I want to. I used to not have a choice. It just—happened."

"Here, show me."

"Huh?"

"Show me. Pick something only I'd know."

"Like what?"

"Well, if I told you, that wouldn't really be fair, would it?"

"Okay." Pofu took a hesitant step forward. "Um . . . could you lie down?"

"What?"

"It's—it's just easier that way."

Tumai lied down. Pofu walked the rest of the distance to her head. He placed a paw on her muzzle, and stared into space that was conveniently right where her head was. His eyebrows seemed to crease a bit. Then Tumai drew in a gasp.

Pofu's eyes changed color.

It was gradual, but almost instantaneous. His irises shifted from obscurity to obvious blue, a mirror image of Tumai's, then began to dance wildly, an ever-shifting mass of brown. _Oh, gods_, Tumai thought. Pofu drew back his paw suddenly, his irises instantly changing back to their normal, colorless state. "What?" he asked.

"Your eyes. They changed."

"Huh?"

"They just . . . never mind. Go on."

Pofu replaced his paw, his eyes swirling once again. Tumai stared at them, captivated. Pofu finally removed his paw. "You stayed with—Taraju that night. You never went home."

Tumai's head instantly flashed back to the memory. She and Taraju had decided to watch the sunset when they were cubs—and never went home after it. Tumai laughed. "Mom was so angry. She had no idea where we were."

"I'm sorry I took so long."

"What?"

"Daddy doesn't like it when I take too long."

"Who's—Daddy?"

Pofu struggled for a word. He placed his paw on her face again, removing it much faster this time. "Mvushi."

Tumai stared at him, stunned. "Pofu," she said gently, "Mvushi's dead."

"I know. But he still talks to me."

Tumai stared at the cub. She got an idea. "Pofu, would you mind if you told one more animal?"

"No!" he said immediately. "I shouldn't have told you!"

"Don't worry, he won't tell anyone else." Pofu considered it. "I think he can help you."

"Help me? How?"

"I don't know. Just—in whatever way you need help."

Pofu considered it. "Okay," he said finally. "Daddy says it's alright."

"You want to ride again?"

"Yeah!" He scrambled over to her side, then jumped on her back. Tumai heaved herself from the ground with a groan. She began making her way towards Pride Rock again. She'd gone so far she'd almost been in the Outlands. She had no idea she'd gone so far. After a few minutes of silent contemplation Pofu's voice interrupted her thoughts. "It's so pretty."

"Huh?"

"The grass, and the animals, and the acacias. All of it." He paused. "Do you want me to stay out?"

"No, of course not. But what are you doing?"

"I can see what you see."

"Wow . . ." Tumai tried to imagine what that was like. A thought suddenly struck her. "This is why you like going with Fujo, isn't it?"

"Yes." Tumai didn't ask any more questions after that. Instead, she tried to look around the landscape, enjoying all of it. She hadn't looked at, _really_ looked at it, in so long that she'd forgotten how beautiful it really was. She finally stopped at a gigantic tree that stood alone. "I thought we were going to Pride Rock," Pofu said.

"Didn't you bother to look?"

"No," Pofu admitted sheepishly. "It was too pretty."

Tumai almost laughed. "Um, would you mind—" Pofu jumped off. "Thanks." She turned her head up to the top of the tree. "Rafiki!"

A yell answered her. "Can't you even wait until a decent time in de blessed morning?" A mandrill's head appeared in the leaves. "Oh, it's you, Tumai. Sorry. Dis leopard keeps bringing her cub to me, insisting I make him king." He shook his head. "So what is it?"

"Well, I've got this cub with me . . ."

"Ai!"

Tumai laughed. "No, it's a different one." She looked around. "Pofu?" she called. Pofu's head appeared around the side of the tree. "Stop wandering and come here?"

"Okay," he agreed. He walked over.

"I want you to look at him, Rafiki."

"Alright," Rafiki groaned. "Bring him up." His head disappeared back into the tree.

"Are you crazy?" Tumai called. "There's no way I can get up there!"

The head reappeared. "Okay, you jump _here_, and den _here_."

"And how am I supposed to get back down?"

"De same way." The head disappeared again.

"But what about Pofu? He's blind."

The entire body came to the ground. "I'll take him." He lifted up Pofu and was in the tree again almost immediately. It wasn't so easy for Tumai. She fell twice before making it up the tree the way Rafiki had advised. She barely made it the last time.

"There is no way I'm ever doing that again," she muttered.

"Now, what is it about dis cub you want Rafiki to see?"

Pofu idly listened to their conversation as he walked around the tree. It was strange to him. The tree seemed to have its own life at times, and at others it was just an ordinary tree. There were strange objects around the entire tree. Pofu went from one to the next, examining all of them. "He can look into minds," said Tumai.

"Eh? What do you mean by dat?"

"He can see thoughts. He can know what you're thinking." Tumai turned to look at Pofu's search.

"You're sure of dis?"

Pofu found a long, wooden rod. He began to look around it, trying to make it out. "I'm positive."

Pofu poked the rod hesitantly. Suddenly it was gone, and the next second he felt a sharp pain in his head. "Don't touch de stick. And how do you know?"

Pofu continued his search. "He showed me."

"What do you mean, showed you?"

Pofu found several containers of strange-smelling something. "He told me something only I would know. Or at least, something _he_ wouldn't know."

Pofu sniffed the containers hesitantly. "Don't sniff dat!" It was too late. Pofu inhaled some of the powder Rafiki used as paint, and sneezed, sending the containers everywhere with his recoil. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to make dat?" Rafiki groaned.

"Sorry," said Pofu.

"Come here, cub," said Rafiki. "Before you destroy de whole tree." Pofu came over obediently, sat down. "Now, can you see into minds?"

"Yes."

"Look into mine."

"Tumai?" Pofu asked hesitantly.

"It's okay, Pofu."

Pofu hesitantly extended one paw, touched Rafiki's leg. He held it there for a moment, then drew it back as if he'd been burned. "No!" he said.

"What is de problem?"

"I can't. There's too much. It hurts."

"Ah." Rafiki turned to Tumai. "Well? What do you want me to do?"

"Well, I don't know," she said. "Help him, I suppose."

"Wit what? He's perfectly fine."

"He's not normal."

"So? What do you want me to do? Take away his gift? I'm not even sure I can. Besides, what harm can it do?"

"He thinks his dead father still talks to him."

"He may be doing dat."

"Isn't there anything you can do? Like, maybe his sight?"

"No."

Tumai sighed. "Alright," she said. "Thanks anyway. Come on, Pofu."

"Do you know when de king will return?"

"We have no idea." Tumai jumped down, stumbled, and fell on her back. "Ohh," she groaned.

Rafiki came down with Pofu. "Now dat I can fix."

Tumai slowly turned over. "I'm fine. Come on, Pofu." Pofu jumped on her back. Tumai got to her feet and began heading for Pride Rock.

"And tell the king I need to see him," Rafiki called after them.

Tumai had back cramps for a week after that.

oOo

The next couple of days don't really stand out. I hung around with Mother and Tumai mostly. Tumai absolutely refused to take me on any more walks; she had enough souvenirs from the last one. Bayana, Fina, and little Haja continued to be jerks to me, not speaking to me at all, completely denying my existence. Taos was different. I didn't notice it then, but now that I look back on it, those couple of days he was beginning to thaw out. A couple of times he actually spoke to me during those two days.

I barely saw him though, and I just shuffled him in with the other three. Like I said, I spent most of my time with Mother and Tumai, who seemed to be developing this wonderful bond. Maybe it had something to do with both of them losing a close friend recently, I don't know. I don't care enough to really look at it, so I'll just let it be.

Two days after Tumai took me to see that monkey the king finally came home, along with Fujo and a "visitor." I say this sarcastically because visitors generally do _not_ get the run of the kingdom and end up staying for life. Things might have turned out much, much differently if she hadn't stayed, for me and Fujo. I mark this as the day that my torture began. Of course, I didn't see that happening at all that day. I was just lying down with Mom and Tumai, playing with Tumai's tail. Have you ever tried to catch one of those things? I mean really try. You should sometime. It is _fun_. Anyway, I'm lying on my back with her tail swishing over my stomach, and I'm listening absentmindedly to what they're saying. Then one thing penetrates: "Oh, look, there's Kovu."

I jumped onto my feet and shouted "Where?!" Tumai just laughed and turned me in the right direction. I started running full speed for Fujo. When I could hear their voices I yelled out "Fujo!!" I tackled him to the ground, lying on his chest. "Where have you been?!"

Fujo laughed. I noticed a different someone next to him. His next remark was to that someone. "What can I say? Hero worship."

I began jumping impatiently on his stomach, accenting each of my words with a bounce. "Where—have—you—been?"

"Okay, cut it out," said Fujo. "Geez, you've gotten heavy." I stopped bouncing, and instead turned my attention to the lioness standing and staring at me like she'd never seen an overenthusiastic cub before. Tumai had explained to me about my eyes changing whenever I wanted to look into someone's head, so I didn't dare do that except with them closed or in private company, i.e., Mother and Tumai. And they still didn't know that the other knew about my gift.

"Who's she?" I asked. I was very proud of myself, I could easily tell lions from lionesses now. This was proof.

"She's no one," said Fujo.

"Fujo!" she rebuked. And wham, there was her voice stuck in my head for good. I was _very_ proud. So was Daddy.

"Alright, alright, she's Afriti."

"Fujo!" This time the comment was accompanied by a blow to Fujo's head.

"Ow! Cut it out!"

"Tell the poor cub the truth, already."

"Alright, she's Taabu."

"Oh," I said. I went back to my bouncing. "Where—have—you—been?"

"Hey, what have I said about that still hurting there?" I stopped bouncing as Tumai walked up. "Just away. No place important."

"Sire?" Tumai said quietly.

Kovu turned to her. "What is it, Tumai?"

"There's . . . there's something you need to see in the den. I know it's going to be a shock."

"Lead the way." Kovu walked off with Tumai.

"So what's your name, little guy?" Taabu asked me.

"I'm Pofu."

"Oh," she said quietly. She had finally discovered why my eyes were the way they were. I just ignored her discomfort.

"Hey, Fujo, can we go on another walk? Please?"

"I don't know. Isn't it a little late to—"

"But it's been _so boring_ without you taking me anywhere. Tumai won't do it. _Please?_"

Taabu laughed. "Indulge the poor cub, Fujo."

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say. How would you like to walk around the kingdom with that ball of fluff weighing you down?"

"Hey!" I protested.

"I think he's kinda cute," said Taabu.

"Yeah!" I said. I jumped off Fujo and wrapped myself around Taabu's forelegs. I didn't even need to look into her mind to see that it was horribly fractured. I paused for a second, nearly looking into her mind, before Daddy warned me off it. _Later_, he said.

"Alright, alright," conceded Fujo, getting to his feet. "I'll take you on a walk tomorrow, but not any before that."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise. Now don't you think we need to get to the den with Dad?"

"Oh . . . yeah." I'd completely forgotten about what Kovu had gone to see. I wasn't too eager to go back to the den.

There was no walk the next day.

oOo

Kovu wept openly. He'd learned a long time ago it wasn't something to be held in, especially not at occasions like these. Nala's body lay in the center of the den. He'd spent the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep, overcome by sorrow at the news of the death. Once again every lioness was weeping, the old wounds reopened. Taabu hung her head in dignified silence, though not a tear was shed. Next to her Fujo's body heaved, his neck hung low and his face unseen. Tumai sat next to him, staring at Nala, tears dripping down her muzzle slowly.

Though they grieved silently, there were those who didn't. Some had their heads buried in the shoulders of their friends, their friend's forelegs around them as they wept also. Next to Kovu Kiara sobbed, her body shaking and her eyes closed, staring at the ground. She buried her head in his mane. He placed a leg around her. Kovu knew that it was time for him to speak, but didn't want to. He had already spoken at too many funerals like this. One was more than enough for ten lifetimes.

Kovu lowered his leg off of Kiara and stepped forward. "Nala," he began, "had a gift. She trusted you. Completely. She was willing to give anyone a chance. Even myself . . . when no one else believed I was worthy to come here . . . she stayed by me. That trust has meant so much to me over the years." A tear slid down Kovu's face as he remembered all of the things Nala had done for him, all of the ways she had persuaded Simba even after he did lift the exile. "That trust is one thing that many of us remember her for, but that is not all. When I was just a cub . . . when many of us had barely been born, she did a great and noble thing." Kovu felt a quaver enter his voice as he stared with utter respect at the heroic lioness on the floor. "She journeyed, on her own, to save us all. And she did. Half-starved as she was, completely without hope, she saved us. She found our salvation. She became our savior herself."

Kovu fell silent. He couldn't help but feel that he had failed miserably. Nala had done so much for them, for all of them. He felt as though he had barely scratched the surface of what needed to be said. He simply didn't have the words. He wished another lioness would speak up, that they would say what was needed, but no one stepped forward.

"Sire." Kovu slowly turned to see Nadhari standing in the mouth of the den. "I am truly sorry for the interruption, but I would just like you to know that we are ready."

"Ready?"

"Yes, sire." Nadhari paused. "Maybe it would be clearer if you came with me." Kovu followed him to the tip of Pride Rock. He stared at the lands below.

Below him, spread in front of Pride Rock, was every animal in the Pridelands, their heads bowed in mourning. "We—we wish to pay our respects, sire," said Nadhari. "She saved us. All of us. We just want to give some of that back."

"How did you come up with this?" asked Kovu incredulously. "There must be every animal in the Pridelands here."

"We are all here of our own accord, sire. . . . We would have come for Simba as well, but we didn't know. We did know for Nala. Every one of us is here because we choose to be. And all of us are here for Nala. She risked her life for all of ours. The least we could do is give her this small tribute."

Kovu was touched. He was sure that Nala was, too. He turned to Nadhari. "Of course. Whatever you think would be appropriate."

"Thank you, sire." The cheetah walked slowly into the den. He stopped next to Nala's body, and gave her cheek a single stroke with his paw. He laid down next to her, grabbed her leg with his mouth, and rolled so that Nala was on his back. Kovu walked around Nadhari, solemnly fixing Nala's body so that she laid perfectly across Nadhari's back. Nadhari slowly walked out of the den and down the ramp, the pride following him. Nadhari slowly walked through all of the animals, his head hung low. The animals followed him, the lions in front of everyone else. It was an extremely slow procession, taking over an hour.

But everyone knew it was worth it.

Nadhari finally stopped and gently laid Nala down where Kovu had placed Simba years before. He took his place among the rest of the animals. There was utter silence as each animal stared at Nala. Slowly they all went away, leaving the lions to mourn by themselves.

oOo

When we were finally getting back to Pride Rock after the ceremony, one of the greatest things that have ever happened to me occurred. During the long walk back Taos actually came over to me. He approached me hesitantly. "Hey, Pofu."

"What do you want?" I asked rudely.

"Nothing," he said. He continued to walk next to me, though. He finally spoke up again. "I—I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Why should you be sorry?" I asked bitterly. He didn't notice my tone.

"Thanks," he said, relief in his voice. "That makes it a lot eas—"

"You only left me out to dry like some stinking carcass. Treated me like filth and I still don't know why." (That last part was a lie, but I wasn't about to let him know.) "And here's me, thinking you were my friend. Some friend." I strode ahead angrily.

"Pofu," he said, catching up to me, "I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't think. I was just—surprised. I want to make it up to you, really."

I honestly was touched by his sincerity. But I still had plenty of mad left to use up. "Yeah, right. Like I'm supposed to believe that."

"Pofu, I'm being honest."

"Sure."

"Alright, I'm down, you've kicked me, now will you kindly let me up? I really do want to have you back. I'm sorry for the way I've been. Honest."

I was about to open my mouth for another hate-filled remark when Daddy interrupted. _Pofu, look at him_.

_I'm blind_.

_You know what I mean_. _The poor cub is trying to be nice to you_. _He truly is sorry_. _Shouldn't you at least give him a second chance? Remember, he had no reason to even come near you, and he did_. _He's helped you so many times_. _Shouldn't you give something back, just this once? Isn't that how I raised you?_

I felt Taos next to me. He truly was miserable, not only because he'd lost Nela—Nala. He was afraid he'd lose me, too. He'd actually tried to talk to me before this, but I'd just shunted him away. I'd been as stupid as he'd been. "Taos, I'm sorry. I—I guess I've been a jerk, too."

"Yeah, but you had a reason." He smiled. "Alright, you're sorry, I'm sorry. Does this mean we can go back to being friends?"

"Yeah." I smiled. I wasn't alone anymore.

"Hey. I'll race you back," he said enthusiastically.

"What's the fun in that?" I asked. "I'd hate to ruin our friendship again just because I beat you so bad."

"Yeah, right!" He ran off, myself right behind him. I imagine we got some pretty odd looks from the lionesses. I actually heard Tumai saying, probably to my mother, "No, let him go." Of course, the two of us reached Pride Rock before anyone else. He rushed into the cave just ahead of me. "Oh, yeah!" he shouted. "Can't touch this!"

"Oh, yeah?" I asked, jumping on top of him. We rolled around the den, myself coming out on top three times out of four. I was bigger than him, now. But it was still fun, for both of us. I could probably beat him today at anything, given my physical prowess. But we don't compete anymore. In fact, this is probably one of the last memories I have of him that I'm sure is untarnished.

oOo

The next day, Fujo made good on his promise to take me for a walk. This day is completely not worth mentioning, save for the fact that this is the day I looked into Taabu's mind. But I feel you want to know a little more of the background of how Taabu is queen, so I might as well tell you all of this.

We got back exceptionally late from the walk, due to all of the animals wanting to give Fujo their deepest sympathies, and to tell him that Nela was such a good lioness, and plenty of other things that can be expected to be said after a funeral. I embedded myself in Fujo's mind, closed my eyes, and for all the world appeared to be asleep. I knew that my eyes gave me away, so I just closed them as I stared with Fujo's eyes. This was the day that I learned what every type of animal in the kingdom looked like.

We got back to the den late, and Fujo went up there first. Everyone else was on the rock, eating, but we'd heard voices. Angry voices. We decided to go look.

"Why should I care what you think? You're just some lioness!"

"You know, why don't you just go back where you came from? You're not even wanted here!"

"You know what? Maybe I will! Maybe, but you know what, I think I'll just stay here just to spite your furry, high-and-mighty ass."

"Yeah, you go ahead and do that, you see how long you're wanted here!"

"You want to start something?"

"I wouldn't mind!"

Fujo finally came into the den. I could feel his surprise. I'd already know it was Tumai and Taabu, but I wasn't about to let him know. I wanted to see where this was going. "What are you two doing?" Fujo asked.

"She just walks up to me and smacks me!" exploded Taabu.

"What?!"

"Oh, you had it coming," said Tumai viciously. "I'm in the den, and she just comes walking into my den. _My_ den. I was in the den _first_. And she has this look on her face that just says _I need to be smacked_. So I go over there and do it for her!"

"Tumai, are you feeling okay?"

"No, I am not feeling okay, and you wouldn't be either if you heard the things she's said about Nala. 'No lioness could be worth that much' my ass!"

"Um, Taabu, could you just excuse us for a minute?" Taabu marched past Tumai her head held high, her tail _accidentally_ hitting Tumai in the face as she walked out of the den. I almost fell off Fujo as he moved into Tumai's path to keep her from killing Taabu.

"Who does that filthy little dirt-bag think she is?"

"Tumai, try to understand where she's coming from. She's coming from an entirely different perspective than you, on nearly everything."

"Oh, so it's okay to laugh at someone after their funeral?"

"Yes."

"Oh, so you've got the bug now, too." She turned her back to Fujo.

"I don't mean it like you think I do. It's good to laugh. It helps to laugh. You laugh to take away the pain."

"Who died and made you Aiheu?"

"Tumai, she just doesn't understand what Nala meant to all of us."

"That doesn't mean that she shouldn't be sensitive!"

"I agree. But Taabu . . ." I felt something in him usually described as _love_. "She's going to take some time to get used to things. Just try to get along with her. Please."

"I thought the wench wasn't staying."

"I hope she changes her mind."

"You disgust me, Fujo." Tumai walked past us, deliberately bumping into Fujo before she left the den, going the opposite way of Taabu. Fujo sighed.

"That could have gone better, don't you think?" I asked. Fujo jumped when he heard my voice.

"You've been up there the whole time, haven't you?"

"Yup."

Fujo sighed. "Just don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

"Tell anyone anything about what?"

"That's right. Now go down and get some food. I need to think."

I jumped off. "Okay. But it's warm, don't strain any delicate parts." I ran down to the rock before he could respond, and buried my head in the warm meat next to Mother. Tumai and Taabu got along surprisingly well after that. At first it was just civilized talking, then they both began to thaw. When Taabu went back to her kingdom with Fujo a week later, Tumai actually broke down crying when she was gone, ashamed at how horribly she'd treated Taabu.

Of course, she pretended like she never even knew Taabu was gone when she came back. I can look into their minds all I want, but I can still not pretend to understand some of the things females do. Nothing else noteworthy happened this day. The girls refused to play with Taos now, but that was a gain if anything.

It really began that night. Like I said, I made my rounds from lion to lion, picking through their head while they slept. Daddy wanted to do Taabu, I wanted to look inside the king's head. He compromised, letting me go first. I walked over to Kovu, sat on his chest, looked into his mind—

And immediately received a paw in the face. My body hurled to the ground in a dirty, red-orange place, pain shooting through it. The lions whose dreams I looked in on may not have been able to feel pain, but I was more than capable. Kovu's—or rather my—head looked up to see two lions smiling as they advanced on me, one with a black mane, one with a red one. I was exhausted, but I leapt at the black one anyway. His clawed paw hit me in midair, knocking my tiny body back to the ground. I slowly got to my feet, utterly spent and with pain covering my entire body.

"Al—alright," I said, breathing heavily. "I'm gonna kick your butt first." I raised my paw towards the black lion. "And then you're next," I said, moving it to the red one. Darkness crept in at the corners of my vision, and my paw fell in front of my eyes, followed by my head.

I heard the red lion speak faintly, as if far away. "Nice shot, Sicwele."

"It was too easy."

The darkness finally enclosed my entire vision. Then little dots of white light filled the darkness, and I felt a wonderful feeling completely at odds with that of the last dream. I turned my head to see the queen next to me, her lovely amber eyes meeting mine. I nuzzled her gently. "You have no idea how happy I am," I said. "To be able to stay here now."

She smiled. "I think I do."

I felt a wonderful warmth inside me. I licked her gently. "I missed you so much when I was gone."

"Oh, _Kovu_."

_Oh, yuck!_ I got out of his mind _fast_. Grownups were so _disgusting!_

_Now Taabu_, said Daddy. I obediently walked over to her sleeping form next to Fujo. I couldn't sit on her, she was on her side. Instead I lied down next to her, placing my body next to hers. I made the connection, and was overcome by sorrow. It throbbed constantly, slowly ebbing away. I only know this by measuring the pain then with that now. It's much, much less now. But that night, it seemed to be all there was. Pain and an infinitesimal spark of triumph. She dreamed no dreams that night; she had a wonderful, easy sleep, free of her usual nightmares.

I reveled in her pain. It amused me. I'm sorry, but there is no other word. Fascinated may have been closer to how I felt that night, but over time that's how I came to feel: it amused me. I had never felt so much of it. I wallowed in it, went up to my neck in it, and plunged my head under, never wanting to come up. It was wonderful to have her feel despair, pain, misery, hopelessness. I don't know why.

The connection suddenly broke and I was aware of my paw no longer on her. She was twitching on the floor of the den, and moaning. I found out later why. I amplify emotions. She was tortured enough, but with me there . . .

Only one suffered under me more than Taabu. I received a sick thrill of pleasure from her agony. Then I was suddenly ashamed of it, knowing it was wrong. I went back to mother (Fujo absolutely refused to have me on his neck anymore, he said the cramps were unbearable) and curled up to her. I was stopped by a simple inhibition that night. It didn't take long to break it.

oOo

The next morning I was quiet. I almost said nothing, didn't even go with Fujo on his walk. He actually came over and asked me if I wanted to go. I just grunted and he left. I was too busy thinking about last night. I went to Taabu, expecting to see her sleeping, instead, only finding her spot empty. Fujo had taken her to show her the kingdom.

I went back to Mother and lied down next to her, remembering the feelings I had felt last night while Taabu relived her pain-filled past. I had gotten little glimpses and flashes of the memories, but I'd ignored them. I was too interested in feeling her pain, exploiting it, strengthening it. Fortunately, as soon as I left, it went back to normal. I'd hate to imagine how she, or any of the other lions in the den, would be today if it didn't.

But that feeling . . . it was ecstasy. My mind didn't stop thinking about it at all. I still think about it. Sometimes I'm even tempted to do it again, to fill some poor lioness's dreams with every dark memory and corrupted dream that she has ever had. I explored every aspect of "wrong," from the small to the gargantuan, though I doubt anything I found measured up to the torture I forced them to live through as they slept. As I said, my mind stayed on it, even after that first night. I ate breakfast slowly, Mother asking me if I was alright. Even when I went with Taos to play I barely noticed the fun he was having. I was quiet that whole day.

I almost didn't even notice Taos berating that over-officious hornbill. It was just walking by, muttering. I was close enough to hear it, but I can hear much, much better than any other animal in this kingdom. It was saying, ". . . always around here, trying to act as if he's important." Taos's ears perked up at this point, he heard the hornbill, too. "Who does he think he is, acting as if he's doing my job?"

"Whatcha sayin', Zazu?" asked Taos.

Zazu stopped. "Nothing of your business, I'm sure. Only that riffraff cheetah reporting to the king now. He actually thinks he's _important_. I mean, would you believe that an upstart spotted zebra like him could actually be considered to report _facts?_ Ridiculous!" Taos began laughing. "And how the king could possibly expect results from someone that low to the ground—I don't see what's quite so funny!"

"Get it through your head, bird-brain! You've been _replaced!_"

"What? Do you really think so?"

"Course, ya stupid bird. Go on, just ask Nadhari!"

"Oh, my . . . Oh, _dear_ . . ." Zazu flew off, Taos still laughing. I've heard Zazu died of a heart attack when he heard the news. The only problem with that is he was still around at the time he was "dead."

Taos finally settled down from laughing. He'd finally noticed I hadn't been. "You okay Pofu?" he asked. "Yeah," I said. "Just thinking." And I was. I kept thinking about that wonderful, god-awful torture I put Taabu through. Slowly Daddy began to encourage me. Each night from that night on one or more poor souls dreamed dark, dark dreams, with as much of my body on top of theirs as I could put without crushing them when I grew bigger, feeling their bodes twitch in horror and reveling in their pain and despair.

oOo

Everything that I have told you is continuous, just one day after the next. If I told you all of that you'd be stuck with a lot of boring details and a story much, much longer than you'd ever care to read. So all I'll do is show you what I think is pivotal, either in my life or someone else's. But the main thing is so that you don't get too bored. I have total recall; I could recite for you every word of every conversation I've been in since I've developed the talent. I have to have it. It's the only way I could come close to seeing.

I grew. And I mean grew. I am _the_ biggest lion I think you'll ever see. I developed control over my body, but that didn't give me my size, that's purely inherited. The same for my gigantic, black mane, too. Everything about me is big. Heck, lionesses can walk underneath me, only touching my chest a little, and that's the bigger ones there.

Like I said, I developed some control over my body as well, probably a result of my gift. If you ever want to feel a heart stop beating, I'm here. The cubs never get tired of that. But besides little tricks like that, the big thing is my muscles. Complete control. Like I said, everything about me is big. Including them. They're massive. Daddy—or rather, Father, as I began to call him—told me to do so. They're one of the few things about this whole mess that I don't mind. But they had one—scary, I guess you'd call it—side effect.

Haja felt for me.

I don't mean the little one, I mean the big one. I wouldn't have minded so much if it was the little one. Like I said, I'm big, I'm muscular, and I have this wonderful black mane. A lot like her former mate. Too much like her former mate. I can think of two things in the world that would disturb you the most: getting a good look inside my mind, and having a lioness that's old enough to be your grandmother—maybe even _great_-grandmother—making a pass at you. Disturbing nightmares ahoy.

Needless to say, I never took her up on her multiple passes ever in my entire life. It wasn't that I was extremely turned off by her. It was just that I was extremely turned off by her. That and the fact that I hate her. I still do. She never accepted me as a cub, and I would still be shunned by her if it weren't for my resemblance to a dead guy. Still, I refuse to mate with anyone, no matter if they're my age or (shudder) not. My blindness ends here. And if it happened to be hereditary, I would actually kill the poor cub who inherited my "gift." The poor cub would end up like me, never having a cubhood, all because he learned responsibility, and love, and hate, and vengeance, and lies, and mistrust all too soon. All of my innocence was stripped away. No one should have to live through what I've gone through. No one.

Like I said, I'm not going to bore you with all of the little details. I grew up, the main person I fed off of being Taabu. The others had plenty of horrible memories, but Taabu, she had more than plenty. Her complete life before she came here was a living nightmare. Watching her sisters die, seeing her mother beaten, herself being raped. She was a complete wreck.

Fujo was probably the best medicine she could have ever had. He slowly pieced her broken life back together, gave it some meaning. How he did it I'll never understand, just as I don't understand Taabu. But that doesn't mean I didn't try. I walked up to Fujo one day, and we began to discuss Taabu, myself nudging the conversation ever closer to her. I finally asked him, "Fujo, I just don't understand her. Do you?"

He laughed. "Of course not."

"But you like her, don't you?"

"Ye-es. How'd you know?"

"It's not that hard to tell. I mean, I can tell she likes you, too. Even if she says otherwise."

Fujo laughed. "You see a lot for a blind guy, don't you?"

_More than you know_, said Father. "Yeah," I said, " I guess. But what I _don't_ see is why you still keep going back to her. I mean, she very nearly treats you like dirt. She hurts you, she doesn't say nice things about you at all—"

"That's just her way. Besides, she's just talk. All of it. She'll never throw more than just shadows at you."

"Yeah, but how can you tolerate that? I couldn't." It was true. I'd been developing a rather wide arrogant streak.

Fujo chuckled. "Yeah, isn't that the way. Pofu, she's more of a lioness than anyone I know. She actually bothers to stand up to me. No one does that, 'cept Tumai. But that's different, more just teasing. But Taabu, she just walks right up to me and says no. It's a lot nicer than just the roundabout no's that I get from the others."

I'd smiled at that. Something I'd been doing less and less often. "You mean you'd be happier if when I was tired of you talking I just said 'Fujo, kindly shut your ugly face?'"

"No, it's not like that. She doesn't abuse it. It's just, she doesn't ever do it if it's something big. Just the little things. And you know," he added thoughtfully, "it's generally just on the stuff that I don't even want to do in the first place."

"Considerate, isn't she?"

"Yeah. I mean, the way she smiles at you can pierce that ego of yours faster than anything, and double for her eyes. She can say more with those than most lionesses could with their mouths. But she just takes care of herself. It's just . . . she's odd. You'll never, ever get her to give in. She just changes her mind. That's all she'll say if you ever ask her."

"Still, you've gotten a lot more cuts and stuff since she's come here."

Fujo laughed. "Yeah, I noticed that. But you can blame it all on yourself. I've earned every one of those in some way or another. They're just little ones, though. I mean—well, I don't know what I mean. I can kid myself all I want, but I can't understand her at all. It's all I can do to describe her. She hides like a cub at times, and then she's right there, out in the open defying everyone. Just being around her will bring out the best and the worst you can be. There are times she acts like a jerk, but you can tell she doesn't mean anything by it." He laughed again. "I'd think you'd be able to relate to her more in that respect."

"Huh?"

"You haven't exactly been Mr. Sunshine lately, have you?"

I hadn't been. As the memories and dreams I sought out became darker and darker, so did I. I rarely laughed, I barely even smiled. I'd become irritable. I suppose it could even be said I'd become addicted to despair. I'd wanted it, wherever I was. It felt good to make others feel pain. I'm still not sure why.

But slowly, lionesses began to think of reasons to stay away from me. I'd brought despair to whomever I was with. Even if I wasn't looking into their mind, I wasn't, as Fujo put it, "Mr. Sunshine." Father didn't help improve my attitude at all. He began to push it even further away from the light. He didn't have much goading to do, either. I loved having others feel despair, loneliness, hate, bitterness.

But just because I was becoming steadily more depressing didn't mean others were. Taos was still just as much of a friend to me as before. I don't know what I'd have done without him. I probably would have gone downhill even faster. But he was always there, wearing a happy face and trying to cheer me up. He didn't seem to understand that I didn't want to be cheered up. But he did his best, anyway.

One incident sticks out in particular. He woke me up in the middle of the night. It wasn't actually the middle. It was more the early night. By the middle I was usually on top of some poor, shaking lioness. I couldn't put any more than my front paws and head on them at this point. Any more and they'd wake up, gasping for air as my body slowly crushed them. Like I said, I am big.

Like I also said, Taos woke me up. He said, "Hey, Pofu, come on, I've got a surprise for you." I followed him outside silently, avoiding the mostly asleep lionesses.

We walked up to the back of Pride Rock. Taos "Shh!"d me and crouched down. I followed suit, for all the good it did my rather large body. He was still an adolescent at this point. I was, too, but I was as large as an adult. We slowly crawled up the hill, voices wafting down to us. "You know, I've never really looked at them," said Taabu's voice. "I mean, I've watched the sunset plenty of times, but the stars . . . they've just been there."

"I know what you mean. But aren't they great?" Fujo.

"Yeah . . . But what are they?"

"Kings, of course," said Fujo with absolute certainty.

"Kings? What do you mean?"

"When a king dies, he receives a star in the heavens. Like those four right there, for example."

"Which four?"

"Those right there. . . . See? Making a cross?"

"Oh. Those."

"Yeah. Well, those are four great kings. If they hadn't worked together, they wouldn't have brought peace to the lands. They're the ones who created the first kingdoms. That's why they're all together, in that cross."

"Wow. I never knew that. . . . But are all kings up there?"

"Yep."

"Even Sibu?"

There was a pause. "I don't think so. I think you actually have to be decent to be up there."

Taabu laughed. "And how would you know? Aren't you alive?" She dropped her voice. "Or _are_ you?"

Fujo laughed. "I'm solid, aren't I? I'm warm, aren't I?"

Taabu nuzzled against him. "Yes, you are. Wonderfully warm. Especially on a cold night like this."

"Yeah. I don't know what it's like back where you're from, but it gets pretty cold this time of year over here. You should see them in the den. They're probably all huddled together."

"Mm. I bet."

"Hey, I thought you didn't like me?"

"Well, maybe I'm just beginning to get used to you."

"Whoa . . . I thought nice lionesses weren't supposed to do things like this."

Taabu purred. "Who said anything about my being nice?" She gave Fujo a long lick.

Fujo smiled and gave her a lick on the cheek. She did the same as he slowly put a foreleg across her chest. She didn't resist as he also placed a hind leg over her, then his body, all the time kissing her, her returning it. He was just begging for her to turn over as he kissed her passionately, nibbled on her ears lovingly, her just as willing. The smell of pheromones finally made their way all the way down to us.

I had no idea why Taos had wanted me to be here for this. I could have told him weeks ago there was something between Fujo and Taabu. In fact, I'd even forgotten he was there, he'd been so quiet. He came rushing back into my universe as he suddenly yelled out, "Fujo, you're a young lion, don't do it!"

Taabu screamed when she heard that. Not really a scream, more a little shriek. Taos had scared the hell out of all three of us. Fujo, of course, got his voice back first. "What are you even doing here?!" he demanded.

"Hey, what are you mad at me for? I just did you a favor!" Taos laughed.

Fujo swung at him. He ducked, Fujo's paw getting what was the beginnings of Taos's mane. Taos ran down the hill laughing, Fujo right behind him. Taabu was still breathing pretty heavily. Just a little more scare and Taos might have actually given her a heart attack. Me, I just shook my head and went back down to the den. Taos and Fujo had woken the entire den up with their antics, so no one was too happy with them.

Probably the funniest part was Fujo's attempt to come up with an excuse for why he was mad at Taos. He couldn't very well say what he'd been doing. He finally settled with "He tripped me." I lied down as every lion in the den berated Fujo. No one seemed to care about Taos, and no one noticed Taabu sneaking in. I was asleep before it was all over.

I hadn't found any of it funny. No humor at all. I can see how it would have been funny. Taos had just tried to cheer me up. To make me laugh. He never succeeded. I feel so bad for him. Especially now. Especially for what I did to him. I treated him like dirt, nearly killed him, and he did nothing but try to help me.

oOo

Like I said, my thoughts grew darker and darker. I began to want to live out the visions I saw, to make them relive the pain. I began to deliver taunting little reminders. No one wanted to be near me, not even Tumai. Mother was even reluctant to be close to me. She stayed close to me, and I made her all the more miserable for it. Especially Taos. He stayed closer to me than anyone. He was always miserable around me.

But I couldn't stop. I know this isn't an excuse. I should have tried. Most of the time I was reasonably harmless. I sat and I stared, my thoughts brooding over various things. I rarely ever spoke, just lying there, staring, Taos next to me, undoubtedly thoroughly miserable. But it got worse. The taunting little reminders escalated. I remember actually scratching a cub to make him cry. I am disgusted with what I did.

In what little defense I can offer, I didn't act entirely of my own accord. Father was there, pushing me, encouraging me. I suppose I became a megalomaniac in some ways. Heck, in a lot of ways. I looked down upon the lions that I tortured. Fujo stopped going on his walks with me. He'd still let me come after I was big enough to walk (or too big to ride, take your pick), and still let me even after I made those some of the most miserable times of his life, reliving his worst experiences. But he absolutely, pointblank refused when I began to insult him.

I was shunned by the lions, and in return I did my best to make their lives even more of a hell than it had been. It's hard to say where exactly I started. I would mark it either from Taabu's arrival, or the first time I looked into her mind. But it's very easy to see where I stopped. Right at my peak.

I woke up one night, Father urging me to go outside. I inhaled the cool night air deep into my lungs. I knew I could do it. I could rule here. I was strong, monstrously so, and I knew I could carry the kingdom. Father kept urging me on in these thoughts, these wonderful, hungry, power-driven thoughts.

_Kill them_, he said. _Kill them, make them obey you_. _You can hold them in your paw_. _You can have the entire kingdom on its knees, bowing to you_. _Overwhelm them, kill them, enslave them_. _They were meant to serve _you.

_Yes_. _I can do this_. _I was meant to do this_. _Kovu stumbles and falls, Fujo will only be worse_. _But I—I will rule as a king should_. _I will rule with _power.

_Yes, my son_. _You will_—he broke off abruptly as I heard approaching pawsteps. It was Taos. _Well, look who it is_. _What a wonderful place to start_.

_Yes, Father_, I thought with wonderful viciousness.

"Pofu?" said Taos.

"Yes?"

"Whatcha doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. Yourself?"

"I—I heard you wake up." Taos paused. "Pofu, I'm worried."

"Why?"

"I'm worried about you."

I was surprised. "What about?"

"You're . . . different. You've changed."

_More than you know_. "I'm just the same guy I've always been."

"No, you're not. You're so distant now. You barely ever talk to anyone, even me. I mean, I'm your best friend, right?" I didn't answer. "Right?"

"Yes."

"Is there something wrong you want to talk about?"

"Yes. Yes, there is." _Oh, there is, there is, there is_. I stood up and began to walk towards the edge of Pride Rock. "I'm coming to one of the biggest decisions in my life."

"Is that what you're worried about?" he asked, following me.

"Not at all. I know what I'm doing." I sat down on the edge, feeling the cool breeze. He sat next to me. "You know, this used to be used for executions."

"What?"

"Pride Rock. The convicted would be forced off the tip." I smiled. "Imagine if you just fell off right now, all the way down there."

Taos shuddered. "What a way to go."

_Kill him!_ said Father. My smile grew wider. "You tell me."

He turned to face me. "Huh?" I whipped a set of claws across his face, knocking him to the ground. With a vicious grin I hit him again, making him roll. He caught himself on the edge of Pride Rock, just barely, his claws scratching the stone. I sank my claws into his paws and heard him cry out in pain. "Pofu," he asked desperately, "what are you thinking?"

I let out a low laugh. "I told you Taos," I whispered. "I know what I'm doing." I can just imagine his eyes widening in fear as he gasped. _Yes!_ said Father. _Yes!!_ I felt into his mind, wanting to feel his despair right before he died. I immersed myself in his mind, feeling waves of despair.

For me.

Suddenly everything was turned upside-down for me. I suddenly saw what I was doing. I saw through his eyes, unconcerned for his own wellbeing, only worried for me. _No, Pofu, please don't_, he thought. _Don't be this way_. _I don't want to see you this way_.

His feelings for me shocked me completely. He wasn't even worried about the swirling blue eyes he saw, only about the mind behind them. The madness I'd been inflicting on the pride finally broke through to me. "Taos," I said.

"Pofu—unh! Pofu, don't do this!"

I tugged as hard as I could, trying to get him up the rock, hearing his feet scrabbling uselessly for a foothold. "Help!" I yelled. "Somebody help!" Then I heard Father, angrier than I had ever felt him before.

_You dare disobey me?_ he thundered. I felt myself grow weak. Taos began to slip back down as my claws retracted.

_No _. . . _Don't let him die_ . . . _Just hold on_ . . .

_You are going to wish you had never done this_.

I felt my grip on Taos's mind slip, then shatter completely. I slowly sank to the ground, trying to hold on to him. Unconsciousness came.

oOo

Fujo suddenly woke to the cry of "Help!" He looked around, hearing, "Somebody help!" A massive dark form that could only have been Pofu was on the edge of Pride Rock. He ran to him, the rest of the den also awake, but uncertain of where the cry was. He saw Pofu slump to the ground just as he reached him, and then to his horror, Taos slipping off the edge of Pride Rock. He sank his claws into Taos's paws and heaved. Fujo heard Taos yell in pain as his claws tore into Taos's paws. Fujo let go of the paws, immediately sinking into Taos's legs. Slowly Taos was brought up safely. Breathing heavily, Fujo asked, "What just happened?"

Taos's words were interrupted by his breathing. "It—Pofu . . . he did this."

Fujo stared at Pofu's still form incredulously. "What is happening to this kingdom?"

oOo

_Please help me_. _He won't leave me alone_. _I can't escape him, he won't leave me alone_. _He won't let me rest_. _He fills my mind with horrible pain, with horrible feelings_. _There is no way out for me_. _But maybe you can find something_. _The pain won't stop_. _I feel like he's killing me_. _Please help me_. _Just a claw across my neck, or paw placed in my heart_. _Sweet relief is all I want_. _Just help me_. _Anybody_. _Somebody_.

_Anybody_.


	3. Daybreak: Tabula Rasa

Daybreak: Tabula Rasa

_I know that the night must end_

_And that the sun will rise_

_Oh, the sun, the sun will rise_

_The son, the son _will rise!

The nightmare began the next day. Those who say they're in a living hell most likely have no idea what it's like. I doubt I can really convey the entire horrible situation to you, but I'll try.

I think I mentioned Father was angry. Angry doesn't really do it justice. Compared to how he was, anger was more like mild dislike. He might not have been as angry as I remember, but no one else remembers it. My fear may have done something to exaggerate it. I was horribly, horribly frightened. I had disobeyed my father. I had never done this, ever. He was so, so angry. I was afraid he would kill me.

I'm not being stupid when I say this. I had finally seen the madness I had descended into, and he was in even further than I had been. I knew he could control me. He'd almost let Taos die. If it weren't for Fujo, Taos would be dead. I knew he could do horrible, horrible things to me.

But he was nice. He gave me a chance to prepare, starting with the small things first.

That night was the last night that I had the luxury of having a dreamless night. As soon as I woke up the next morning I was aware of his anger. It came crashing down on me in waves. _What do you mean by this?!_ he roared.

_Father, I'm sorry_. _Please, don't be angry with me_.

_You disobeyed me!_

_Father, please, don't be angry_. _I didn't want to make you angry like this_. _I didn't think_.

There was a small pause before he answered. _Are you truly sorry for what you did?_

_Yes, Father_.

_Show me_.

_In any way_. _How?_

_Kill Taos_.

I was shocked, completely rooted to the spot with fear. _Father, please, anything but that_.

_You said anything, you will do anything_. _You _will _obey me_.

_Father, please reconsider_. _Not this_. _Please_.

_Obey me!_ Pain shot through my body. I let out an involuntary cry. My body shook with the intensity of it, then stopped as it faded away. _Obey me_.

I began to cry. Me, three-quarters full-grown, and _crying_. I didn't know what was worse: losing my best friend or my father's respect. The choice is obvious, but it wasn't to me. I wanted to please my father. I knew he loved me. I wanted to earn that love. _Yes, Father_, I said miserably. I stood up and walked into the den. They were eating breakfast. I lied down, Father allowing me this pleasure. A carcass was dropped in front of me. It was Tumai.

"Pofu, are you okay?" she asked gently.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Taos and Fujo said you just collapsed outside."

"I'm fine."

"Well, alright . . . I'll just leave you to eat." She turned away, then turned back. "Are you sure you're—"

"I am FINE!" I roared. She took three steps back as the entire den went silent. I felt horrible. I'd been treating them like this for far too long. "I'm fine," I said quietly. I let my head drop and began eating. Slowly the noise level went back to normal. I finished my carcass and pushed it to the side and laid my head down. Taos came over.

"Pofu, you okay?" he asked in the same tone Tumai had used. I felt my claws slide out involuntarily.

_KILL HIM NOW!_

I stood up and felt my body drag back a shaking foreleg. "Pofu," Taos said uncertainly.

_KILL HIM! DO IT! DO IT _NOW!

"Pofu, what are you doing?"

_NOW!_

_Father, no!_

Pain shot through my body. I collapsed to the ground. I slowly stood up again, despite the pain, and began to walk away from Taos, to the back of the den which was now unoccupied. I collapsed there, the pain overwhelming me.

_You will be punished_. It was not a threat. It was a fact. I began to weep openly. And I still hadn't even approached the worst part.

oOo

There were three days before I slept again, so it all balances out pretty nicely. I stayed in the back of the den, only eating if they brought food to me. Taos stayed away. I can't blame him. From what I got from others' minds later, he was actually with my mother and Tumai. He was trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

Those three days I spent in constant pain, Father trying to—_persuade_ me to make the kingdom—no, no, the _world_ realize who its true master was. Taos finally got fed up with Mother and Tumai's _I don't know_'s and finally decided to come over to me on the third day.

I was still fighting my father. I _knew_ it was wrong. The only thing I believed I could do was try to make him see as I did. It was futile. I should have seen that from the beginning. But I didn't. I spent three days begging him, subserviently, to change his mind.

As I said, Taos came over to me. I was so preoccupied with my father that I didn't even notice him until he spoke. "Pofu?"

My ears perked up, the only sign that I heard him. "Go away, Taos."

_You can redeem yourself_. _Kill him now, and all will be forgiven, my son_.

"No. I won't go away. Not until you tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong."

"Don't kid me. You've been doing nothing but lying here, you barely eat, you _never_ sleep, and the way you shake . . . it's like you're in pain, constantly."

"Go away. I don't want to hurt you."

"You can't hurt me. Can't touch this."

"Go away. Or else."

_That's right_. _That's good_. _Or else you will kill him_. _You will crush him, you will drive every last bit of life from his body, you will_—

_Shut up_.

_What did you say to me? I am sure you did not defy me_. _But, as I said, kill him and all will be_—

"I said SHUT UP!"

"I didn't say anything."

I suddenly stood up and swung at Taos. _I_ did it, not my father. I intended to miss him, to make him leave before I did something even worse under my father's pitiless urging. I didn't. Maybe I underestimated my reach, or his will to stay. Either way, I hit him cleanly across the face, undoubtedly making a deep gash.

He was knocked to the ground, literally skidding on the ground from the force of my blow. He screamed. I had swung as hard as I could. A little lower, and I undoubtedly would have taken his throat from his neck. But I didn't, and instead he was on the floor of the den, yelling in pain. I felt horrible. I wanted to say I was sorry, but I knew I couldn't. It would only make him want to stay closer to me, to comfort me. If I lost control, he would be the first to die. I had to distance myself from him. From everyone.

I said, without a trace of compassion, "_Leave_." It was the most painful word I've ever had to speak.

_Yes, that's it_. _You know he's going nowhere_. _Go to him, kill him, rip his flesh from his bones_. _You know you enjoyed that bit_. _Indulge yourself_. _Make him feel _pain.

_No_. _I refuse to yield to you any longer_.

My father gave a cruel, heartless laugh. _Do you really think you can just say no to me?_ He applied pain, causing me to fall to the ground. _Oh, no_. _Respect your elders_.

_NO!_

_No? Well, let's see how you _really _feel after this_.

My mind slowly slipped away from the world.

oOo

I want to point out to you that in a mind, anything is possible. You can compose stories, dream of faraway places, visit friends long gone. You can do _anything_, especially if you are aware of your mind. I was. And my father trapped me in mine.

Like I said, anything. Even giving sight to the blind.

I stared at my father, his face a cruel one, showing no trace of pity or compassion. He loomed over me, myself just a cub. And for a background—I doubt you would find a crazier thing. I imagine it's what the world would have looked like when I first fell down the stairs. _Up was down, and down was off somewhere doing its own thing_. No sense of depth. No sense of which way was up, save for the fact that both me and my father were oriented the same way. The ground was solid, but it seemed to go on for miles below me. And all of it, simply black and white, in stripes and dots and patterns in no logical way at all.

I believe I mentioned my father standing over me.

I cowered. His face was a frown, his jaws bared and his claws extended, begging for blood. Then, suddenly, his face softened. "Pofu," he said in the gentle, fatherly way that I always remembered, "please, listen to what I'm telling you. I only want to help you. I just want to make you the best lion you can be. Taos is only in your way. As is Fujo, and Kovu, and Tumai, and all the others. They want to keep you down. You can only trust _me_."

He almost sounded reasonable in that tone of voice.

"Daddy?" I said quietly. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes, my son."

"You're a liar!"

The soft, gentle look completely disappeared from his face in an instant. "What did you say?"

"It's not true! Taos is my friend! They're all my friends! They don't want to hurt me!"

"They will _use_ you. You are _nothing_ to them."

"They love me! And I thought you did, too!"

"Pofu," he said, hovering between ultimate anger and that warm, gentle face, "I _do_ love you. I'm trying to help you." He pulled me close to him as he used to do, his claws digging into my fur, almost pricking into my flesh. "_Believe_ me."

I might have been just a little cub compared to him. I might have been scared silly at the thought of what he would do to me. But I wasn't about to let him hurt Taos. I jumped away, feeling his claws scratch me as I did. "No!" I yelled, ignoring the pain. "I refuse to believe it!"

"Well," he said, his face despicable, "let's see what it takes to convince you."

Suddenly I was no longer there. I was on a cliff, watching someone who couldn't possibly be my mother, yet I knew was, fall off that cliff. I yelled, "Mother!" I turned away, not wanting to see her hit the bottom. It made no difference. I still felt that horrible thud reverberate into my ears. I began to cry.

I heard horrible, horrible laughter. I turned to see a red-maned lion laughing, his eyes filled with amusement.

"Why Taabu, look what you've done." He laughed again. "You've gone and gotten your mother killed. It's such a pity she lost her footing." He shook his head as if he was actually sorry. "And she had such a long life ahead of her, too."

"You—you monster! You killed her, you _beast!_" I leapt at him and immediately was thrown back to the ground by his paw, his claws tearing into my face.

"And that was just a taster!" I looked up to him, watching him slowly advance on me. "You have no idea what I have in store for you. You will _sorely_ regret ever having done that to my father."

I got to my feet, backing away from him in fear, waves of it flowing over me.

"I'll tear the flesh from your living body, I'll make you _bleed_ until you are dry, I'll tear out your insides and feed them to you."

I stumbled, him still advancing towards me.

"I'll make you wish you were never alive." He smiled a vicious, bloodthirsty smile. "Have you ever wondered what keeps your fur on? What keeps your insides in? You won't ever have to wonder again."

I began to back away from him as quickly as I could, still on my back.

"But you know, Taabu, how much I have admired you for your—other qualities. So don't worry." He lowered his voice to a whisper as he walked over my body, his chest over mine, his eyes staring into mine. "I'll make sure I _thoroughly_ enjoy them."

I whipped a paw across his face, flipped over, and ran as fast as I could away from him, wild with fear that he'd come after me, that he'd make good on every last one of his promises. He laughed, his voice fading into the distance behind me. "Don't worry. You'll come crawling back like the worm you are, screaming for your mother."

I kept running, his derisive laughs in my ears. I finally stopped when I could no longer hear him. And I cried. I missed my mother. Horribly. And I couldn't even go back to her body for comfort. I couldn't go back ever.

I felt my wet tears sliding down my face as Father came back into view along with the rest of my mind. "How did you like that?" he asked, his smile identical to the lion's.

"Why are you doing this? _Why?_"

"I don't have to do this to you. All you have to do is _listen_. Isn't it better to have this inflicted on others than yourself?"

"NO! No one should have to go through this. _No one!_"

The smile slid off his face. "Alright then. Let's see how long it takes to break you."

oOo

Tumai looked sadly at Pofu, his eyes closed, his head motionless on the floor. He refused to wake up. The only sign that he was even alive came from his slow, steady breathing. Next to her lied Nyota, her face near her son's. She refused to leave him, Tumai her only companion. She remembered how she had been the first one to come, the first to find Taos on the ground, bleeding profusely. Tumai had been right after her, only leaving to get Rafiki, and then never leaving.

Even Taos left. He'd only stayed the hour it had taken him to stop bleeding. Now the only ones who even were around Pofu were Tumai and Nyota. Even Rafiki didn't know how to wake him up.

"I don't know how to fix it," the mandrill had said. "Anything I'd do would only make dis worse. I don't even understand him." He'd gone back to his tree, leaving only Tumai and Nyota, and the occasional visitor.

Nyota was cradling her son's massive head with one paw, an extremely difficult task. "I've been a horrible mother, Tumai." A tear slid down her face.

"Huh? Don't be silly, Nyota."

"I have been. I've spent barely any time with him at all. I never spent the same amount of time Mvushi used to. And—and it just hasn't been the same . . . since he's gone . . ." Another tear.

"You did your best, I'm sure."

Nyota turned to Tumai, her eyes brimming with tears. "That's just it. I don't think I did. I've always let him run off with his friends, just saying to myself, 'I'll be with him when he comes back.' And even when he did, I did almost nothing. And he was all alone . . . only Taos was there, and I told myself I should be with him. But I didn't want to. What kind of a mother does that, Tumai, rejects her son because she—she doesn't want—want to be—" She couldn't go on any further. Tumai held up a leg, and Nyota dashed under it, grateful.

"Nyota, it's not your fault. Pofu know you love him. I'm sure he does."

"But what if he doesn't come out of this? What if I never get to see him again, and all he ever remembers me for is how I've treated him?"

"He'll be fine. He just—he just has issues, sometimes." Tumai didn't know how Pofu's gift would have caused this. But she hoped.

"What do you mean, issues?"

"Nothing." Tumai looked away from Nyota's face. She'd promised Mvushi she wouldn't tell. She wouldn't.

"Tumai, tell me. Please."

"I can't. I promised."

"Please."

Tumai looked back at Nyota's desperate face. She was Pofu's _mother_, for Aiheu's sake. "Your son—" Tumai didn't know how to say it easily. "Your son can look into minds. He can see thoughts."

Nyota pulled away from Tumai sharply, her face horrified. "How—how do you know this?" she whispered.

"He told me."

"He—he told you?"

"Yes. But he told me not to—"

"Tell anyone. Yes. That's what Mvushi said, too."

It was Tumai's turn to be surprised. "You _knew?_ And you never told me? Told _any of us?_"

"We had our reasons."

Tumai was grateful the den was empty. She was embarrassed by her callousness. "I'm sorry. I should have realized—"

"No, it's alright." Nyota sat back down. "You have no idea what this means to me. I can finally share this with someone. I've been carrying it alone so long."

Tumai gave a little laugh. "I know the feeling." She sighed. "I told myself I wouldn't stop being with him, that I'd bite my lip till it bleeds if I have to. But I did. And look where we are now."

They sat in silence, staring at Pofu's motionless body, not even a dream twitch running through it. "What do you think is happening to him?" Nyota asked quietly.

"I don't know. But he'll be fine. I know it."

oOo

I watched with pride as my mother ran along side the column that migration made, having seen her done it flawlessly twice already. She jumped on a wildebeest, its neck in her jaws.

Then it all went horribly wrong as the wildebeest bucked, sending her into the middle of the herd. "Mom!" I yelled. I was worried, but not too worried. I knew she would be up soon, emerging from the herd with a few scrapes. She was the best hunter in the pride. Everyone recognized that fact.

The seconds passed by. I yelled again, fear coming over me. "MOM!"

"Shani, quiet," said Kiara next to me, her voice unconcerned. "Your mother doesn't need any distraction while she's hunting." She was looking around the column, her eyes flicking from lioness to lioness, watching them take down what was the last of the column, certainly not watching the cubs she was supposed to. In a few minutes the herds would be gone, new ones migrating in a couple of days from now.

"Kiara," I protested, "I'm worried about her!"

"Why?"

"She's _in there!_"

"_What?!_" Her eyes immediately flickered to the herd. Then, suddenly, for a brief, glorious moment, I saw my mother rise above the herd, her face scarred and her legs bleeding. Then she disappeared under the seething mass again. Kiara gasped. "Anaka!"

"_MOM!_" I ran towards the column and certain death, Kiara barely catching me.

"Shani, no!"

"I want to see Mom! I have to know she's okay!" I struggled desperately against Kiara's leg, barely being held back. I _had_ to see my mother, I _had_ to see her. I knew she was fine, but what if—

I struggled free from Kiara as the last of the herds disappeared. I ran into the dust in the direction I had last seen my mother. "MOM!" I yelled. I ran from side to side, searching desperately, my sight blinded by the dust. "MOM!" I suddenly stumbled, falling to the ground as I tripped. I slowly picked myself up. The dust was beginning to settle, my vision becoming clearer. "MOM!" I tripped again over something again. I looked back to see what I had fallen over.

It was a leg.

"No . . . No . . . MOM!" It was another leg, a—a wildebeest leg, an antelope leg. Yes. Some antelope had a paw instead of a hoof, some kind of freak accident at birth. Of course. I continued running. "MOM!" I saw what I had been dreading.

My mother's head lay on the ground, her skull beaten in by numerous hooves, her face completely disfigured.

"MOM!" I screamed. I ran to the head. "Mom, no, no, _no_, _no_, NO!" I began to weep bitterly. I looked back across the trampled ground, seeing the leg I had stumbled over, and another, and another, and her body, beaten and mangled, nothing more than a red smear on the ground, the remains of the last leg still attached, barely.

"MOMMY!" I screamed. "MOMMY!"

My father materialized before me, his face angry. I had long since dropped to the ground, writhing in agony. I just wanted it to stop. But I couldn't let it. If I did, then he would win. If he won, Taos died. I looked back up at him, my eyes streaming floods. "I hate you _so much_," I said viciously.

He smiled at that. "Good. Use that hate." I felt pain shoot through my body again. "Are you ready to stop?"

"No," I whispered defiantly.

He was still smiling. "Alright then. Another, _happy_ memory." He disappeared.

I hated these. All they served to do was to give me a brief sense of euphoria, making the crashing drop all the more painful. But there was nothing I could do. My mind was not my own. And it was happy. I had food, piles upon piles upon piles of food, and an appetite that could not, _would not_ be stopped. I knew this was no memory, it was only a dream. A wonderful, pleasant dream, as opposed to the real and unreal nightmares I had been forced to endure.

It finally stopped, after I had gone through my two hundredth (or was it three hundredth?) carcass. Oh, that wonderful happy ecstasy. Tears streamed down my face, knowing what I would have to endure now. I _did not_ want to go back to it. But I had to. For everyone's sake.

I stared at my father's paws. "Wouldn't you like to continue that? That happiness, that joy?"

"Yes," I muttered weakly.

"Then just give me your word. I am your _father_, I am only trying to help you. Believe me, I find this just as repulsive as you. I don't want to see you go through this. You know what to do to make it stop."

"No," I muttered weakly. "You're a liar."

He roared in anger. "What will it take?" he hissed, walking away from me. He turned back and hit me across the floor in frustration. "Alright. Something you might be able to identify with."

I sat on the edge of Pride Rock, my heart chilled as the wind blew. I thought about my family, how I could never go near them, could never touch them for fear of hurting them. That chaos, that cheetah bloodbath, it had been _wonderful_. Exactly as Zira had taught me to take it. I wanted more of that, I _craved_ it. The ripping of my claws through their necks, the feeling of their muscle between my teeth. I looked at it in love and in hate. Because of this I had to estrange myself from those I loved. From my darling mate, from the one son I had left. I couldn't afford to just slip and let myself indulge in violence.

I sat on the edge of Pride Rock and watched saw the land grow dark as the sun went down.

My father appeared before me again. That horrible, horrible sense of loss . . . I sadly looked up to my father. "Are we willing yet? Compliant? I know you how you must hurt."

I wanted it to stop. I wanted it all to stop. "No," I whispered fiercely.

"Very well then."

Another happy memory. One of _my_ memories. One I cherished and loved, a sweet call to what had passed. I lied with my father, my eyes closed as I snuggled happily against him, feeling his love wash over me, warming me. He loved me. He truly loved me. I knew; I could feel no lies in his pure heart. And I loved him, too.

Then, suddenly, the image shattered, breaking into my nightmare. I wept as I saw my father's paws before my eyes. This had hurt me more than any horrible memory ever could. I wanted my father's love back, his wonderful adoration. I looked slowly up to the beast's face, wanting his praise. His sadistic grin showed no love at all, only delight in my pain.

I suddenly wondered, _Is it possible?_

He said, "You can have that back, Pofu. Just do as I say."

Horrible clarity began to dawn on me. I reached out to my father's paw, grasping it for assurance. "But don't you love me?" I dragged myself to his leg. He pulled me the rest of the way.

"Of course I do, my son."

He lied.

I could tell that immediately. I should have realized it a long time ago. I stared into his mind, a filthy, seething mass of lies, of hate, of pain, of despair, of something that most definitely was _not_ my father. I looked up at him in horror. There was no room in those cruel eyes for love. They were choked with hate.

I backed away what little I could. "You're not my father."

"Of course I am. Don't speak nonsense."

"You're _not_ my father. My father is kind, and good." I drew strength from the clarity. "My father _loves me!_"

"Of course I love you. I _am_ your father."

"You _lie!_" I drew myself up to my full height, my _real_ height, not just the cub I had been. I looked down at the beast that had brutalized me, his face full of bestial rage. "My father is dead. He died, long ago. You are nothing more than some horrible mirage."

His smiling face grew ugly as I uttered those words. "Well, you just had to go and ruin it all, didn't you? And you were so _happy_, having me guide you." He laughed. "No matter. You still _will_ obey _me!_"

I felt a momentary jolt of pain before I threw it off entirely. He drew his head back with a hiss. "Get out," I said.

"Do you really think you can get rid of _me?_ Of your _conscience?_"

"You are no conscience of mine. Leave."

He bared his claws. "No," he said firmly. "You _will_ bow to me."

"I said GET OUT!" I ran at him and rammed my paw against his face, ripping cleanly through it. A chunk was gone, simply gone where my paw had gone through him. He snarled at me with what was left of his face. I whipped my claws through his body repeatedly, slowly causing him to disappear, him unable to fight back. I finally erased what was left of him from my mind. The inside of my mind began to fade away. Comfortable, blind darkness surrounded me. I was finally free.

oOo

Tumai sighed. "The wedding is over . . . The feast has been thrown . . . The food has been eaten . . ." She threw a dirty look at Fujo. "_All_ of it."

"A happy, happy day indeed." He was lying on his back, his gut so expanded that it almost was as high in the air as his chest.

Taabu smiled and licked Fujo's face. "Yes, it is." She smiled as she nuzzled up next to him. "I wonder what my sisters will say."

Fujo looked up suddenly. "We're going back there?"

"Of course. I can't have my own wedding and not tell them. Besides, they'll want to welcome you in."

"Like Taraja did?"

"Aw, he was just playing."

"He put that—stuff—on my meat. I was sick like a dog all night."

"Sick?" asked Tumai. "I didn't hear about this."

"You wouldn't have wanted to. Projectile vomiting is not a pretty thing. If that's him having fun last time, I'd hate to imagine him this time." Fujo laid his head back down with a groan. "Besides, my schedule just wouldn't allow it."

"Like _you_ have a routine," teased Tumai.

"I do. Sunrise, get up and walk around the kingdom. See if there's anything wrong. If there is, run like hell. After that, breakfast. And then I have my early morning nap. Then mid-morning snack. Then my late morning nap. Lunch, and make myself unbearable to Tumai. Then, pretend to pay attention to Dad as he lectures me on this Square of Life thing."

"Circle."

"I knew that. Then, dinner, if you lionesses actually get off your lazy butts and decide to do something early for once."

"_Our_ butts are lazy?"

"Then after that I watch the sunset. See, full schedule." Taabu looked at him with sad little cub eyes. "Don't look at me like that." The eyes became sadder. "Fine. . . . I could move dinner up a little earlier, and that'd still leave time at night for staring at the ceiling and slowly slipping into insanity through trying to count all the cracks in it . . . But what would I say to them?"

Taabu smiled. "'I am so undeserving of this, and please don't kill me for just taking her like this.'"

"Yeah, in your dreams."

Taabu laughed and licked Fujo. "Alright. We'll leave tomorrow."

"Bright and early. If we're actually up then. I get the feeling I'm going to be staying up a lot later now."

Taabu nuzzled him seductively, placing one foreleg across his chest as she did so. She gave him a passionate lick. "Much, much later."

Tumai made a face. "You two disgust—Pofu! You're awake."

Fujo and Taabu turned to look at Pofu. "Well, hello there. 'Bout time you got up. Been asleep for over three days."

"I can see into your minds," said Pofu. "I can look inside them, and see your thoughts, your feelings, your emotions, your dreams. I can see whatever you have ever imagined. And your darkest thoughts have dominated me since I was a cub. But now I have thrown them off. I am now free."

The three lions stared at him, stunned. "Is this some new way of saying good morning that I missed the memo on?" asked Fujo.

"He's telling the truth," said Tumai.

Taabu and Fujo looked at her. "You've known about this?" Taabu asked.

"I knew he could look into minds. But that's it. Not the second part." Tumai turned to Pofu. "Is that why you've been so bitter?"

"Yes," said Pofu. "And I am deeply sorry for it." He smiled. "Where's Taos? I want to tell him I'm sorry." Tumai's smile fell off her face. "Well? Where is he?"

"Pofu . . . I'm so sorry. Taos is gone."

"'Gone'? What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"Here." Tumai stepped forward. Pofu put his paw to the side of her face, the entire conversation he saw in her head taking only a few seconds in real time. He was Tumai, sitting with Fujo, staring at Taos, a partially healed gash on the side of his face. Pofu knew exactly where it had come from.

"You're really leaving?" Tumai asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I can't really go anywhere here. Nothing to do."

Tumai laughed. "I know what you mean."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" said Fujo defensively.

"Hey, look, it's a nice place and everything. It's just, you know. A little short on action."

"It's just fine here."

Tumai laughed. "To you, maybe. One animal's meat is another one's poison."

"One lion's ceiling is another one's den."

"A fool's paradise is a shaman's hell."

"Um . . . don't run with a broken bone?"

Taos laughed. "And, of course, the whole place is going down the works as soon as he's king."

"Hey! Is that how you talk to your big brother?"

"Joking, Fujo." Taos sighed and looked out across the Pridelands, looking almost heroic with the sun outlining his body.

"What about Pofu?" Tumai asked.

Taos's figure hung his head. "I—I don't want to leave him like this. But I don't know what he'd do. . . . He just isn't Pofu any more."

"I know what you mean."

There was a pause. Fujo finally spoke up again. "Take care of yourself."

Taos turned around with a smile on his face. "Don't worry about me. Can't touch this." He turned and began to walk down the ramp of Pride Rock.

"Good luck!" called Tumai.

"Don't need it," he called back. "I was born lucky!"

The memory faded away, leaving Pofu in his usual darkness. But it wasn't usual. He felt nothing, heard nothing, smelled nothing. "Taos," he said. He lurched to the side clumsily, barely catching himself from falling.

"Pofu—" said Tumai.

"Taos!" Pofu took another step, missing the edge of Pride Rock and falling down the steps. He slowly got to his feet and began to run away. "Taos!" he yelled. "Taos, come back!" He crashed headfirst into a tree. He sank to the ground, sobbing. "Taos, Taos, Taos . . ."

oOo

Taos is gone. I have no idea where he went, I have no idea if he'll ever come back. I hope he does. I want to tell him how truly sorry I am. I may have apologized to the pride, but that isn't enough. I want him to know how sorry I am for all the pain I caused him, physically and mentally. But if he doesn't come back . . . Well, I can only hope he finds someplace where he does feel he belongs.

As for the rest of the pride, peace has finally come. There is happiness. Taabu is pregnant, the general thought being _About time_. She'll give birth to a boy and a girl. I know, I've felt their little, innocent minds. I owe it to the pride to do something for them. I owe it to these little cubs, to Kovu, to Fujo, to whatever they decide to name the new prince. I will serve these lands as I ought to.

But most of all, I will never forget my father. An old king once said, "and to lose him, when he had barely begun to live." It's true for my father. He had far too much to live for. So I will do what I think he would have wanted. I pledge my allegiance to this pride, and the new prince.

And I just hope Fujo doesn't screw up.


End file.
